Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

About the park

The sheer size of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park combined with the breadth of facilities that it has brought to East London is on a scale not seen before. The 100ha Park consists of two distinctively different areas, with the new Waterden Road and North South Highway providing a route through the Park and access to Westfield Stratford City and the wider community around east London.

The North Park extends the 26 mile long green corridor of the Lee Valley Regional Park and provides landscapes rich in biodiversity with sculpted landforms, tree lined avenues, rivers and ponds and naturalized green spaces. In addition and woodlands, the North Park offers facilities such as the Timber Lodge Community Hub, Velo park, Here East, Copper Box and Tumbling Bay playground that consists of Sand and water play and the Lottery funded Gaskils fort that has been constructed with reclaimed materials and wood from woodland.  A new liner park names Canal park has also been constructed on the western edge of the park following the Lea Navigation this new area of the park mirrors the planting across the North of the park, A new playground has also been installed bringing the total number to 3.

The South Park is located within the branches of the River Lea and links four spectacular attractions in the immediate vicinity: the 114m tall ArcelorMittal Orbit, with the tallest tunnel slide in the world.

Aquatics Centre, Olympic Stadium and the London 2012 Gardens and not forgetting the pleasure gardens designed by Piet Oudolf The South Park is a lively, public landscape which hosts numerous activities, events and attractions, making it a destination for locals, Londoners and tourists.

The Park’s stunning venues and open spaces sit alongside 5000 new homes designed to suit all needs, well served with new schools and businesses to create vibrant communities.

Maintaining the legacy

Managing a Park on this scale with such a diverse range of open spaces, facilities, events and social responsibility commitments has been no mean feat. Following a competitive procurement process, idverde was selected as a grounds maintenance partner in early 2012 in alliance with EQUANS as a facilities management partner. The maintenance contracts span a decade after the Park’s official opening in April 2014.

idverde’s team moved onto the site in September 2012 to help monitor the transformation works and to begin maintenance as areas were completed. Since then, idverde has been and remains responsible for the comprehensive management and maintenance of the green, blue and grey estate and the day to day operational management of the Park, including:

• Establishment of the vast array of horticultural features, whilst keeping the park open to the influx of visitors
• Ensuring that the Park meets the dual needs of a local park for local communities and an iconic national and international destination
• Developing the legacy by providing a centre for horticultural excellence
• Monitoring, conservation and enhancement of the biodiversity of the waterways and parklands
• Management of over 14,000 new trees and 9 History trees
• Management of 120,000 + shrubs, perennials and bulls across the park.
• Waste Management from events, Venues and general park users.

Social value

As a contracting partner of the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC), idverde has committed to the values and objectives of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. These values have been translated into a number of key themes including sustainability, accessibility, biodiversity, local growth, equality and inclusion.

Equality & Inclusion

Since 2012 idverde have employed over 30 staff member with a range a skills and ability’s from within the host Boroughs of Newham, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Hackney and Greenwich. Recruitment from the host boroughs will ensure the numbers of female, disabled and ethnic minority employees reflect the local community around the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and the host Boroughs.

Since 2012 idverde have enrolled over 25 apprentices on to the Apprenticeships within the horticulture sector. Ranging from level 1 to level 5 management. The apprenticeship is open to all new and existing employees no matter the age, ability or Knowledge.

Sustainability

At the outset of the project ‘Our Parklife’ – a joint venture Community Interest Company – was set up with local partners Renaisi, a social enterprise, and the environmental charity Groundwork London. idverde and EQUANS the CIC brings together the skills and knowledge of locally based regeneration organisations with large employers like idverde. Its mission is to connect local people to the Park through employment, volunteering and training.

Our Parklife has worked with the long-term unemployed and bridged the gap between jobseekers and available positions. It has successfully established links with local agencies providing skills, volunteering and training opportunities to long-term unemployed residents preparing them for work on the Park. Our Parklife has run a number of ‘Pre Employment Training Programmes’ offering NVQ Level 1 training to over 40 local residents and a guaranteed interview to those who successfully complete the programme. In the first year 32 local people completed the course, 8 got jobs on the Park and 15 gained employment elsewhere.

idverde supported Our Parklife to deliver over 200 volunteer days assisting conservation activity on the Park and initiated the first Garden volunteer programme successfully embedding volunteers into the Parks operational teams.

idverde still has several employees on the park from the pre-employment program some of which are team leader.

idverde continues supported Our Parklife to deliver over 200 + volunteer days assisting with conservation activity on the Park, Local school, Colleges have also been able to undertake activities on the park, Corporate events have also played a big part in recent years on the park with the replanting of the Californian poppy bank and the creation of the beetle bank to encourage the bombardier beetle to thrive on the park.