Clissold Park User Group (CPUG)
The User Group is a local community group which gives a voice to park users and works with Hackney Council and others to make sure that our views are taken on board. We know almost everyone appreciates Clissold Park in their own way, but we also know that user’s interests sometimes conflict. We try to find consensus and reach sensible compromises when needed, respecting different points of view and experiences.
We work closely with the Council, but we are a completely independent group. We have a small income from fundraising, selling merchandise such as posters, postcards and calendars and the occasional small grant. The group is run by local volunteers who help out with fundraising for the park, running free public events, maintaining our website and social media presence as well as coming to our meetings to share their views and ideas.
What is most important about the park is that it is open to absolutely everyone in the local community. As park users we need to recognise the importance of sharing this public space together and encourage considerate use of the park whether walking a dog, riding a bike, using the wheels park, sharing a picnic or just enjoying a peaceful moment in beautiful surroundings.
In recent years we have:
- Held six public meetings each year bringing park users and managers together to share information, ideas and concerns
- Held free summer live music events in the café garden and other events to celebrate important park occasions such as our 125th birthday
- Provided free guided tours of the house and park as part of OpenHouse London
- Produced a pocket map and tree guide to the park and a series of postcards of historic images of the park
- Raised funds for the restoration of the drinking fountains, to pay for a green plaque in memory of Joseph Beck who created the park, to provide free public events and to commission a professional artist to design our new park map
- Represented park users on the Clissold Park Development Board
We were also very closely involved at all stages of the park restoration project which was completed in 2011. This led to over £9m of investment in the park and Clissold House from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Big Lottery and Hackney Council under the Parks for People Programme.
The User Group does not claim to be the sole voice of all park users – now well over two million a year. It is simply a group of local volunteers who care about the park and want to make a difference.
Find out more about how we work by reading the CPUG constitution [PDF]
Honorary President
Our long-standing chair, Ken Worpole, resigned in March 2011. In recognition of his many years of dedicated work on behalf of park users, the group agreed to create the post of Honorary President and invite Ken to take on this role.
Read Ken’s farewell message to the User Group [PDF]
Making a complaint
To make a complaint about anything to do with the park, please contact the Park Manager: Quinten.Geurs@hackney.gov.uk
To make a complaint about the User Group please contact us on info@clissoldpark.com
CPUG complaints policy [PDF]