The charity has awarded five-year service contracts to idverde for the following parks:

• Hyde Park
• Kensington Gardens and Brompton Cemetery (Kensington Gardens and Brompton Cemetery come under one contract),
• Greenwich Park,
• Bushy Park,
• St James’s & The Green Parks (under one contract).

All five-year contracts come with the possibility of a two-year extension. An existing contract with idverde is already in place for The Regent’s Park.

The Royal Parks will continue to deliver the highest horticultural standards through these contracts. The contracts will also seek to increase community engagement by developing horticultural volunteering across these iconic parks.

The contracts will see a new landscape maintenance structure implemented through the appointment of a Royal Parks’ head gardener in each of the parks, including Brompton Cemetery. The head gardeners will directly instruct a team of contract gardeners. They will also be responsible for engaging the communities around their parks. This will oversee the recruitment of volunteers to provide additional support to the growing gardening teams and provide the capacity for gardening teams to carry out additional tasks at the highest level, over and above the delivery of current services.

All contracts will guarantee all contract staff a minimum salary of London Living Wage and existing staff from current contracts will be protected under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) legislation.

The new contracts will prioritise sustainability, for example the continued roll out of an electric fleet, green waste recycling and waste management. Service delivery will ensure a greater emphasis on protecting a biodiversity. The new contracts have included updated approaches to incorporate current industry standards and good practice.