Park Ranger Service
The London Borough of Hackney employs one of the few remaining Park Rangers Services within London. They are the Borough’s representative to the public and are the first point of contact for members of the public in all of Hackney’s main parks and open spaces, covering an area of 329 hectares (the largest area of green space found within any Inner-London borough). The Ranger Service is one of the key assets to Hackney’s Parks Department.
There are eight major parks in the London Borough of Hackney, comprising a total area of 268 hectares, and 56 minor parks and open spaces that comprise an area of 61 hectares. The major parks include Hackney Marshes, Millfields Park, London Fields Park, Hackney Downs Park, Springfield Park, Clissold Park, Haggerston Park and Shoreditch Park.
The Ranger Service permanently staffs each of these major parks with member of staff during daylight hours throughout the entire year. At each of the main parks there is located a Park Rangers Office that is the main contact point for members of the Public. At these points, the Rangers deal with all enquiries and complaints brought to them, provide contact to the emergency services and have information on conservation activities that occur within Hackney’s Parks.
The Ranger Service is responsible for ensuring that each Park and Open Space is clean and safe for use for all members of the community. They accomplish this by cleaning and removing all green areas of all litter, including the facilities found within each park (i.e. toilets, changing rooms, playgrounds, etc). The Rangers also regularly patrol the parks, inspect all essential equipment (e.g. playground equipment) and, where necessary, render basic maintenance, thereby ensuring that each park and open space is safe to use by the public and by other members of staff.
The Ranger Service is also responsible for enforcing the Council’s by-laws, thereby ensuring that there is a minimum level of antisocial behaviour and a ensuring a limitation to the amount of vandalism and misuse that may occur. The Ranger Service is responsible for the opening and locking of the minor parks within the Borough, and these facilities are regularly patrolled and cleaned. The Rangers are fully qualified in the administration of First Aid and are responsible for dealing with all types of emergencies that may arise. In parks that provide sports facilities (such as tennis, football, etch), the Rangers are responsible for the collection of revenue (in the case of tennis only), the allocation of keys and changing rooms (where applicable) and the general day-to-day running of the facilities. The Rangers provide assistance to organisations that run events within the parks, when authorised to do so.
The Ranger Service Head Office is based at London Fields and the Ranger Manager can be contacted on the number on the right.
Online Form: Ranger services
Page updated: 17 Jan 2008