Conclusions and recommendations
The eight Royal Parks provide opportunities for enjoyment
and respite to millions of Londoners and visitors to London, but
there are ways in which the Agency could more effectively manage
its assets.
1. The Agency has accumulated a £65 million
backlog of maintenance work. Having now
completed condition surveys of the buildings and other structures
in the Parks, the Agency should keep its records up-to-date so
it can target resources on the areas of greatest need. By mid-2006
the Agency should have a costed plan for tackling the backlog,
with clear performance milestones and measures.
2. Although commercial events help to generate
income, large numbers of visitors can result in damage to the
Parks. The Agency should seek opportunities
to capitalise on the Parks' assets in less intrusive ways.
3. There is untapped potential for the Agency
to generate income from its considerable assets.
In seeking to increase its income the Agency should:
- take forward plans to brand
and merchandise its own products, join forces with retail partners
to reach a larger market and develop e-commerce opportunities
via its website;
- see what lessons can be learned from others for
example the National Museums and Galleries and other parks;
- improve the information it holds about the cost
and profitability of income generating activities, and manage
them to make a profit;
- coordinate its activities with those of The Royal
Parks Foundation, which has proved a successful source of additional
income, so that their respective roles and accountabilities are
made clear.
4. The Agency is missing out on opportunities
to learn from others. The
Agency should be more outward looking in assessing its performance.
The Agency should identify suitable comparators in other parks,
nationally and internationally, and establish mechanisms for the
sharing of information and best practice by the end of 2006.
5. Visitor centres are only open during office
hours and are often in the wrong place. Advice
about the Parks should be readily available to visitors. The
Parks' visitor centres should be situated where people can easily
get to them and open when people want to use them.
6. The Agency lacks reliable information about
the users of the Parks. The Agency was
unable to provide the Committee with information on the social
background of the Parks' users and in an annual report to Parliament
included a visitor numbers figure for which there was no clear
basis. The Agency has agreed to report back to the Committee within
a year with more information about the users of the Parks, and
should ensure that only reliable information is reported to Parliament.
7. The project to build the Diana, Princess
of Wales Memorial Fountain was poorly managed and the costs have
run out of control, leaving the Agency with an annual maintenance
bill of £250,000. The problems with
the fountain reflected basic project management failures. The
fountain was a small scale project, yet there were multiple stakeholders
whose roles, responsibilities and accountability for the finished
result were not clear. Nor were there clear plans for managing
the project risks. As a result, the project was £2.2 million
over budget and there are continuing maintenance costs which divert
resources from the Agency's other work.
8. There are now proposals to construct a
further memorial, to Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother.
The project provides an early opportunity to apply the lessons
from The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain and achieve
a better outcome.
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