Friends of Bushy and Home Park

Annual Report for 2024/25

This is my ninth annual report to Members. As I said last year, it is a privilege to represent you, the members, in our dealings with The Royal Parks (TRP) and Historic Royal Palaces (HRP), and with others who manage and enjoy these two semi-wild natural spaces. You, the members, are hugely appreciative of what the parks provide; be that the natural landscape, wildlife, history, somewhere to exercise, somewhere to observe nature, somewhere to restore our well-being.

That well-being and exercise opportunity which the parks provide is exemplified by parkrun. The global phenomenon which began in Bushy Park as the very first venue on 2 October 2004 and which celebrated 20 years with thousands of runners turning up in October 2024. Yet another part of history associated with Bushy Park.

The Friends role is to promote respectful use of the parks by visitors and to support the parks for future generations to enjoy. Faced with the impacts of climate change and of increasing human demand to use the space, it can be an uphill climb. Possibly the only type of hill in either park!

We began our life as the Friends as a campaigning group in 1990, objecting to threatened removal of Chestnut Trees. We found ourselves once again involved in a campaign, this time about policing in the Royal Parks. The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police has indicated that the Royal Parks’ police unit is to be cut, with policing of the parks handed to local neighbourhood commands. A shortfall in funding for the Met is the reason. Despite considerable opposition from local councillors, MPs, the Friends’ groups for each of the Royal Parks, and The Royal Parks charity, it appears the cuts are going ahead. The risks are that neighbourhood police will not deliver the same capability as the dedicated unit and that consequently the parks may become susceptible to greater public misbehaviour and feel less safe.

I turn now to a more positive story. The work you will have seen in Bushy Park has again been extensive and important. Bracken, which is invasive and cannot be left unchecked, has been cleared in several areas, while taking care to preserve areas for deer birthing and bird nesting. Scrubland and soil are being improved, with concern to ensure the SSSI status is maintained. The Woodland Gardens have been defined a little more with maturing shrubs and more mature trees, which are able to cope with climate issues, installed to succeed those which have died; and over forty thousand bulbs have been planted. The tree canopy has reached a point where much of the canopy has grown to the same height, so it is now being layered to encourage younger growth and more natural difference in heights. Grass cutting is now done in strips with areas of long grass left to grow seed, which improves habitat for invertebrates and costs less to maintain.   Leaf clearing is now being done differently, mulching leaves and leaving it on the ground to encourage worm and invertebrate action which is good for the soil. Broom Clumps, the area alongside the roadway to the Pheasantry car park, has been cleared of undergrowth allowing new planting and more deadwood habitat for those species which rely on it. The Brewhouse area and the Water Gardens and Longford cascade bridge are being refurbished. You should have spotted the green roofs on the litter bins in the Woodland Gardens, and the area newly landscaped next to Crocodile gate, projects proposed and implemented by TRP’s Apprentices working in the park.

Some of Bushy Park’s infrastructure is being given attention. The roof surrounding the Pheasantry café is to be repaired as it leaks, and the toilets by the Playground are also to be substantially restored to modern capabilities – the pipework is very old cast iron and often has blockages. The wooden planters on Chestnut Avenue, which were temporarily installed when it was designated a No Through Road, are to be replaced by carriageway half-gates, to improve sightline safety.

Home Park has been subject to less obvious works, although behind the scenes much planning is being done, including finding ways to improve wildlife habitats, and to ensure sufficient people resources by recruiting more volunteers to work in the park. It is encouraging that HRP continues to recover from the income losses which it suffered during Covid, which means the park and gardens will benefit alongside the rest of that charity’s estate.

I should record here our deep sorrow at the untimely death in early January 2025 of Dr Terry Gough MVO, the recently retired Head of Gardens and Estates at Historic Royal Palaces. Terry was a strong supporter of the Friends and appreciated our role as a stakeholder in Home Park and the gardens at Hampton Court Palace. The restorations at Hampton Court of the Privy Garden, the kitchen garden, Queen Mary’s Exotics Garden, and two of the Lime tree avenues are all his legacy. It was our great privilege to have known him.

For the Friends, 2024 has been a year of several successes. We succeeded in organising several significant events. These included a revived, albeit small-scale, Chestnut Sunday; a photographic exhibition of members’ amazing pictures of wildlife in the parks; a weekend commemorative exhibition of Camp Griffiss for the 80^th anniversary of D-Day; and an art competition held in partnership with the Landmark Centre, which attracted over 100 entrants of all ages, who produced exceptional works in celebration of the two parks. Many members and other visitors congratulated the Friends on these events, and we have been asked to repeat them. They are very time and energy consuming to organise, so we are drawing breath before making firm commitments. In addition to those one-off events our programme of walks and talks has also proved very successful and been strongly attended. We are massively grateful for the volunteer walk leaders, the expert speakers, the volunteers who support the talks with technical expertise and handle logistics and catering, and Rebecca Harvey our trustee who manages the programme.

Alongside the above activities, whose substantial costs were covered under the Friends’ educational budget, during the past year the Friends also funded (a) five new pergola shelters outside the Pheasantry café kiosk, (b) an improved pedestrian/mobility access gate at Home Park’s Kingston Gate, (c) DNA research into Black Poplar trees in Home Park, and (d) four new lockable information notice boards in Bushy Park.

Somewhat frustrating this year for the Friends has been the wait for an electric buggy which is to carry visitors between the Diana car park and the Pheasantry car park. This will mitigate difficulties faced by people with limited personal mobility who cannot now be driven by car along the no-through-road of Chestnut Avenue. Our trial use of a buggy in 2023 proved the need and we have persuaded TRP to supply a new one which we will operate with volunteer drivers. However, changes in personnel at TRP headquarters have contributed delays and despite our requests for action, the year has passed by without a delivery. We remain on the case and hope the coming year will see a successful outcome.

Also frustrating for us were demands from the park manager at short notice regarding Chestnut Sunday arrangements which consequently reduced the scope of the event we had planned. Further frustration has been caused by the length of time taken to deal with the refurbishment of the toilets at the Playground, although that is a frustration about TRP’s works priorities borne equally by the park manager and the Friends. We haven’t managed to achieve all of our aspirations in the plan for 2024, but what was achieved took enormous amounts of energy and attention to detail.

Looking ahead with optimism, we have been encouraged by TRP’s Chief Executive’s enthusiastic agreement to find ways in which the Brewhouse might be brought into occasional use. We proposed it as a site for “pop-up” exhibitions at intervals, which FBHP would organise in partnership with TRP, with our volunteers as stewards. The building appears to have a population of bats which means how it is used may be constrained. Nevertheless, we continue to plan for ways in which this important, historic, listed building can serve a greater purpose than simply being a deteriorating asset.

The Visitor Centre has continued to be a source of information, education and advice to visitors in Bushy Park and for potential visitors to Home Park. Our exceptional volunteers have delivered almost 1600 hours duty at the venue. Meanwhile the volunteer walk leaders have led visitors in both Bushy and Home Parks with almost 137 hours of their time. Our volunteers are not a “free resource”, they are priceless!

Our membership stands currently around the 1560 mark. I must once again thank members for your generous donations to the Friends, which we use to fund projects that the two parks might not otherwise afford or be able to prioritise. Our website, Facebook page and Newsletter all reach their audiences effectively and ensure we keep everyone in touch with what the parks’ teams are doing and what we are doing with them.

The Trustees and other officers of FBHP have worked hard during the past year on behalf of the membership and in support of both parks. Barry Purdon, who has been our Vice Chair for the past 8 years is standing down. He has also been our Appeals coordinator, our Safeguarding officer and our representative on the Safer Parks policing panel, and a frequent volunteer at the Visitor Centre. I have been grateful for his wise counsel and advice to me over the years.

In conclusion, we continue to enjoy these two parks as they face climate change and increased numbers of visitors. We work alongside the volunteer Rangers, and with the management teams in both parks. We are grateful for all their hard work. I engage closely with Phil Edwards the Bushy Park manager and with Nicholas Garbutt from Historic Royal Palaces and to me, their stewardship of these wonderful spaces is abundantly apparent.

I want to record my thanks to my fellow trustees, officers of the committee, volunteers, other helpers, and especially you the members for your continuing interest and support. We must continue to ensure the protection and conservation of these parks for generations to enjoy.

Colin Muid – Chair, The Friends of Bushy and Home Parks.                                   February 2025.