Agenda item

A report of the Director of Open Spaces on the work of the Friends of West Ham Park for the year 2012/13.

The Superintendent of West Ham Park introduced the report on the Friends of West Ham Park, commenting that there had been a slight decline in volunteer numbers over the past year, due in part to the change in emphasis to ensuring the quality of experience for volunteers over volunteer numbers, and to a natural draw-down in volunteer numbers following the 2012 Olympic Games.

During discussion amongst officers and Committee Members the following points were made:-

·         Given the high density of residential housing surrounding the park, anti-social behaviour (ASB) was much lower than one may expect from similar areas across London. Where ASB does occur, the key to combating this was to imbue a sense of ownership amongst the local community from an early age which is an aim of the on-going events programme. There is a natural ‘policing’ of local anti-social behaviour by regular users of the Park such as dog walkers or joggers coming forward to report instances of ASB such as graffiti, or encouraging fellow dog walkers to clear up dog mess.

·         The Superintendent planned to encourage the implementation of a volunteer model similar to that operating in the City Gardens, to encourage greater regular participation amongst the pool of volunteers in the Friends of West Ham Park. In time this would encourage volunteers to be more proactive and self-sustaining.

·         The Superintendent undertook to provide a briefing note using existing RSPB data on the comparison of bird numbers in the Park to a future Committee, and this would be considered as a potential project for an interested volunteer.

·         A Member commented that the high population churn in the local area of the Park was part-cause for the low number of active volunteers, with five particularly committed Friends of West Ham Park recently moving away from the area.

·         The Chairman suggested that the Friends of West Ham Park would be a suitable area for consideration by the Volunteer Task Force. He endorsed a comment from a Member that volunteers should not be imposed upon too much and that, the emphasis should be on the quality of experience.  They were a much valued aspect of the management of the Park.