Call to axe £150,000 park subsidy (From Thurrock Gazette)

Call to axe £150,000 park subsidy

2:50pm Friday 30th November 2012 in News

THURROCK’S MP has joined calls for an end to the council tax levy for Lee Valley Regional Park.

Jackie Doyle-Price is supporting Richard Tracey’s view that the 26-mile park, which covers parts of East London, Hertfordshire and Essex, should no longer be subsidised by 36 local authorities, including Thurrock.

Mr Tracey, of the Greater London Authority Conservatives, wants the subsidy, totalling £11,749,300, phased out over the next five years, and for the park to become self-financing.

Despite being well outside Thurrock Council’s boundaries, the borough must pay a subsidy of £149,885 this year.

The levy to the Lee Valley Authority is left over from when Thurrock Council was part of Essex County Council – it has been paying it since 1998. In 2008 the council tried to stop the payments, but was forced to continue.

Conservative MP Jackie said: “I really don’t know why the people of Thurrock are paying. We don’t even have any representation on the board. We should stop.”

The park, which attracts around 2.4 million Londoners every year, hosted several London 2012 events at its White Water Centre.