Friends of Lyttelton

Written By Dominic Rose

Credit: Wikipedia

The Friends of Lyttelton group has been active in the 15 months since it was formed: working closely with Barnet Council on the development and management of the park; running a regular volunteer planting events; crowdfunding and managing 22 new planters; running a large scale local consultation on the proposal for the circuit path. There is an active WhatsApp group with over 150 members, where friends of the park can discuss relevant topics, share ideas and coordinate activities.

Overall, feedback from the local community, park users and Barnet Council has been highly positive and Lyttelton continues to act as a green focal point at the heart of HGS.

At its formation it was been agreed that the committee of the Friends Group would be set up using a representative structure as outlined by the Community Action Network “how to” guide. Under this structure no individual is directly appointed to the committee, but key stakeholder groups are invited to send a representative to join the committee if they wish to do so. This enables the interests of a wide range of stakeholders to be represented and has been judged by Barnet Council to be in the best interests of Lyttelton, given its diverse user groups.

Now that the friends group is well established, it was agreed by the committee that it would be beneficial to invite direct community and park user members to join the committee alongside the stakeholder representatives. A request was made in the FoL WhatsApp group for candidates, as this represents the wider group of park “friends”.

Four great candidates came forward, and following discussion, the committee agreed they should all be appointed. As such the committee is now made up of:

  • Dominic Rose from Britain’s Biggest Living Garden (Chair)

  • Nick Moss from Growing Green, representing Henrietta Barnett Community Orchard Garden

  • Teresa Due from Mutton Brook Action Group

  • Naomi Simon from Kerem School

  • Yael Brown from Keren’s Nursery

  • Barnet Council (note that Barnet policy is not to take up seats on Friends Groups, but to make Council staff available as needed to join meetings if possible)

  • Frank Hawkins from HGS Trust

  • Bishopswood Bowls Club have requested to leave their seat vacant

  • Carly Mckenzie as a local community representative

  • Diane Walsh as a local community representative

  • Charles Herz as a local community representative

  • Robin Marks (& Joanne Murray) as a local community representative

To become a Friend of Lyttelton or express your views about the park please:

Dominic Rose
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