Alan Yarrow, Lord Mayor of the City of London, has paid tribute to staff at West Ham Park during a visit to the East London site.

The head of the City of London Corporation, which has run West Ham Park since 1874, planted a dwarf pine [pictured] and was treated to a tour of the wildflower meadows, community vegetable garden and the park’s sports outreach programme.

Alan Yarrow, Lord Mayor of the City of London, said:

“So much hard work goes into keeping West Ham a place that can be used and enjoyed by all Londoners. The park has an enormous impact on both the local community and the capital at large – and is hugely valued by everyone who comes here.

“An astonishing two hundred thousand bedding plants from the West Ham Park Nursery keep every single park in the Square Mile stocked with floral finesse – as well as Greenwich, Richmond and Bushey Parks. It is an amazing resource for London.”

Last year West Ham Park won ‘Gold’ in the London in Bloom large park category, Green Flag and a Green Heritage Award. And with over 1 million annual visits and at 77 acres, the site is the largest park in the London Borough of Newham.

The City of London Corporation runs 11,000 acres of green space across London, including Epping Forest and Hampstead Heath.