About us
Our work is governed by The Lee Valley Regional Park Act 1966 and our byelaws. The Act embraces just about every conceivable aspect of leisure, sport and recreation, including nature conservation and the protection and enhancement of the natural environment.
It sets out our powers, governance and duties. We can exercise these by ourselves, or by acting in partnership with or seeking the services of companies, individuals or other bodies. This partnership power is an important part of the Authority's approach today, working with the public and private sector.
We’re partly funded by a “levy” on the council tax in London, Essex and Hertfordshire which is 90p per head of population per year. After having pursued a clear policy for more than 10 years of reducing the levy, and our reliance on it, that along with significant savings and efficiencies, we took the difficult decision to increase it for 2023/24 in response to the increase in costs due to high inflation and high energy costs. How much each local authority contributes is detailed here.
How we're run
The organisation is not a local authority and is not governed by local authority legislation. However, it often adopts what is considered “best practice” by local authorities.
Lee Valley Regional Park Authority is overseen by an Executive Committee who lead the Authority’s decision making process. The governance structure is currently set at a 28 Member Board with a six member Executive Committee.
The Members are elected and nominated to this Authority by their own constituent Authorities
20 of the Members are from the riparian authorities (those whose borders are crossed by the Lee Valley Regional Park boundaries) and is made up as follows:
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Four Members each from Essex and Hertfordshire County Councils (a total of eight)
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Two Members each from Broxbourne Borough Council, East Herts District Council and Epping Forest District Council (a total of six)
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One Member each from the London Boroughs of Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest (a total of six)
A further eight Members are appointed through London Councils to represent all of the remaining 27 non-riparian London Boroughs.
In addition, the Authority also has two co-opted Members, one from Canal & River Trust and one from the Environment Agency.
Appointments are for a four year term of office. The current term of office for all Members ends on 30 June 2025.