Greenwich Park’s long-serving manager is stepping down after 13 years running London’s oldest enclosed royal park.
Graham Dear is retiring after leading plans for the Greenwich Park Revealed restoration project, which will include grass steps being reinstated on the slope next to the Old Royal Observatory, taking the park back to its 17th-century appearance.
The project also includes community facilities such as a new café, toilets and a volunteering base, as well as new public space in the south-east corner of the park.
Dear also led the park when it hosted modern pentathlon and equestrian events during the London Olympics of 2012, when a temporary arena was built next to the National Maritime Museum.
The park was also closed to through traffic in 2020, ending its use as a cut-through for commuters during the coronavirus crisis. The ban was made permanent last year.
Dear said: “Greenwich Park means so much to so many people and it has been my honour to run the park with my excellent colleagues and volunteers for the last 13 years. I’ll miss the park immensely but intend to stay in touch as a member of the Friends of Greenwich Park.”
Tom Jarvis, Royal Parks’ director of parks, said: “Graham has been an inspirational Park Manager for Greenwich Park over the last 13 years. He has consistently championed the needs of the park and has worked tirelessly to see Greenwich Park secure the investment required to futureproof it for generations to come.
“The Greenwich Park Revealed project is the culmination of this work and is very much his legacy for the park.
“Graham will be hugely missed by myself and all of us at The Royal Parks, and by the many visitors he has welcomed over the years. We wish him the very best of luck in his retirement.”
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