Crystal Palace Park Trust and the London Borough of Bromley are working towards today being a one-year countdown to the transfer of the historic Crystal Palace Park to the Trust.
Following several years of successful collaboration on the implementation of the Park’s regeneration plan, and recent positive discussions on the planned handover of the Park, a target date for the handover of the Park to the Trust has been agreed. On 1st April 2023 it is planned that the Trust will be granted a long-term lease to the Park and will assume responsibility for its management and maintenance, as envisaged in Bromley’s 2015 committee paper.
The handover is subject to the formal approval of Bromley Council’s Executive and to the Trust achieving milestones in the coming months, including the continued recruitment of key staff and park maintenance contractors. During this period, the Trust will expand its full-time professional staff, adding a Park Manager and a Volunteer Manager to the current team of Chief Executive, Events Manager and Company Secretary. The Trust will also begin the procurement process for contractors to provide a high standard of services, including maintenance, horticulture, and heritage conservation.
Bill LoSasso, CEO of Crystal Palace Park Trust, says: “We are delighted to have a timeframe in place for the handover of Crystal Palace Park, and look forward to working with colleagues in Bromley on this important transition. Bromley’s Crystal Palace Park Regeneration Plan, developed in partnership with the community, has created the framework for a complete revitalisation of this much-loved Park through the innovative model of the Trust. I look forward to expanding our dedicated team as we increase investment in the Park and engage the community in its continued improvement.”
Philip Kolvin QC, Co-Chair of Crystal Palace Park Trust, says: “The Crystal Palace represented a turning point in world architecture, set in one of the greatest Victorian park landscapes. Crystal Palace Park Trust looks forward to working with our community and the many expert park groups to tell that story to a new generation, preserving and enhancing the heritage of this wondrous place, while creating a park which meets the recreational and ecological needs of this generation and those to come”.
Martin Tempia, Co–Chair of Crystal Palace Park Trust, says: "When the community petitioned the London Borough of Bromley in 2014 to jointly establish a Park Trust, few realised how complex and challenging this proposal would be. That we are now close to achieving this goal is a testament to the hard work and determination of everyone who has been involved in this process. From April next year, the Park will be governed by the Trust. It will have a dedicated management team, new funding streams and workable plans for its restoration and sustainable improvement. This beloved Park will benefit from the devotion and creativity of so many people for years to come.”
Lydia Lee, Assistant Director Culture and Regeneration says: “This is an important step in securing a flourishing future for the park, and is part of a very clear strategy that the Council has been working hard to deliver, with our partners, for the benefit of both Bromley residents and communities across South London. The importance of good quality outdoor space and leisure provision has never been better understood, and the regeneration of the park will have a huge impact on the wellbeing of many.”
ENDS
Editor’s notes - The Crystal Palace was constructed at the Park in 1854 and burned to the ground in a great fire in 1936. The Park then passed through several local government hands before coming to Bromley in 1985 upon the dissolution of the Greater London Council.
The Trust was established by the London Borough of Bromley in 2016 to assume management of the Park in due course and lead its regeneration. It was considered that a charitable trust would be able to recruit relevant expertise to its board and staff, while focusing its energies exclusively on this nationally important park; and would have a greater ability to raise commercial, charitable and grant funds.
The Trust’s charitable objectives are:
(1) To preserve, protect, manage and improve the physical and natural environment of the Park by protecting and conserving structures, monuments, landscapes, buildings and objects of architectural, historic, engineering, ecological or archaeological interest.
(2) To promote for the benefit of the public the provision of facilities for recreation and other leisure time occupation including arts, culture and heritage in the interests of social welfare.
(3) The promotion of community participation in healthy recreation by the provision of facilities for playing sports.
(4) To advance the education of the public, in particular, but not exclusively by providing and promoting education in relation to the history and heritage of Crystal Palace Park and its physical and natural attributes.
The Trust began to implement its events-based business model to great success in 2021:
It brought the concert bowl back into use with the South Facing Festival, including free community events.
It contracted with Festival Republic to bring the Wireless Festival, the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra and a free schools music event to the Park.
It provided 80 free educational and recreational summer events for local children.
It raised the first block of charitable funds, including from the community, the Mayor of London and the Backstage Trust, to refurbish the concert platform and restore it for year-round community use.
The Trust will announce its first physical improvements in the Park later this spring, informed by a public survey.
A significant amount of resources and energy are being devoted by all parties to ensure that the transition happens seamlessly. Additional updates will be shared as milestones are achieved and information becomes available.
For media enquiries, please contact Andrew Rogers, Head of Public Affairs, on 020 8461 7670 or email andrew.rogers@bromley.gov.uk.