West Ham Park has a rich and diverse cultural history spanning over 400 years.

Newham Recorder: Oliver Sells QC, Chairman of the City of London Corporations West Ham Park Committee.Oliver Sells QC, Chairman of the City of London Corporations West Ham Park Committee. (Image: Archant)

Our green spaces, owned and maintained by the City of London Corporation, are among the most important places for Londoners, forming part of our heritage, and are places that can be enjoyed in many ways. For just sitting and enjoying the scenery, for sport and play, for horticulture, for walking the dog, to encouraging our wildlife, parks really do have it all.

And so we are delighted to have retained our Gold Award in the London in Bloom competition.

London in Bloom is about celebrating and recognising the passion Londoners have for caring for the environment and maintaining our precious green spaces, so this echoes the exceptional work staff and volunteers do year-round. In August, charity partner Capital Kids Cricket (CKC) were able to hold their summer programme. Youngsters had the opportunity to take part in a range of sporting and social activities such as throwing and catching and learning new skills at a non-verbal communication workshop.

CKC aims to improve the physical and emotional development of disadvantaged young people living in the most deprived areas of London with activities provided in hospitals, schools and green spaces across 22 London boroughs, with West Ham Park being one of their key hub sites.

In September, to coincide with Keep Britain Tidy’s Great British September Clean, The Friends of West Ham Park once again gave us their help and organised 10-minute litter picks on three consecutive Sundays.

Everyone said they enjoyed the opportunity to get outside with their litter sticks and take part but were genuinely saddened by the amount of litter collected and wanted to highlight the issues around waste, which has seen an increase since lockdown began.

It has been incredibly encouraging to see so many people helping to maintain West Ham Park during the Covid-19 pandemic and I would like to say a huge thank you to all our staff and volunteers who help care for the site, which is of such importance to the community it serves.