Agenda item

The Superintendent to be heard.

The Committee received a verbal update from the West Ham Park Manager. The following points were made:

·                Work has commenced with the removal of the hedge around the tennis courts which is a privet which has Honey Fungus as part of the CBT funded projects for this year.  The team will spend the next month removing the hedge and preparing the soil for the replanting of a replacement hedge;

·                The Team has completed the planting of small coppices of native medium trees such as Hawthorn, Crab-apple and Field Maple in areas of the park.  The planting reflects the original intentions of the 1873 master plan for the park.;

·                The Friends of West Ham Park supported the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch.  A successful event which attracted 25 members of the public.  22 species of large birds were recorded including Gold Crests, Field fares, and a pair of Red Wings as our more unique visitors;

·                The Nursery team are preparing to grow an amazing 350 different Genera of bedding plants for the City, Park and three of the Royal Parks – Richmond, Bushy and Greenwich; and

·                The Team have been very busy developing and creating exciting and accessible web pages.  They have had to meet very tight deadlines whilst also undergoing on the spot training to produce the pages.  This can be found at www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/westhampark

The Superintendent advised the Committee that the manager of the catering business had recently signed a new agreement starting from December 2012.