Continuous re-turfing of Tower of London moat.

The request was successful.

Dear Historic Royal Palaces,

I wonder if you can tell me dates and reasons - say in the last 3 years - for the Tower of London moat turf being destroyed by ad-hoc constructions for events, then returfed, to be soon destroyed again by the next event. What are the environmental consequences and cost of this? Thanks in advance.

Yours faithfully,

George Chiesa

Dominique Phipp, Historic Royal Palaces

Dear Mr Chiesa,

 

I write in response to your email, dated 18 July 2018, in which you
requested information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA)
about the Tower of London’s moat turf.

 

Historic Royal Palaces (HRP) is the charity that looks after The Tower of
London, Hampton Court Palace, The Banqueting House, Kensington Palace, Kew
Palace and Hillsborough Castle. We help everyone to explore the story of
how monarchs and people have shaped society in some of the greatest
palaces ever built. We raise all our own funds and depend on the support
of our visitors, members, donors, sponsors and volunteers.

 

Your request:

 

Dear Historic Royal Palaces, I wonder if you can tell me dates and reasons
- say in the last 3 years - for the Tower of London moat turf being
destroyed by ad-hoc constructions for events, then returfed, to be soon
destroyed again by the next event. What are the environmental consequences
and cost of this? Thanks in advance. Yours faithfully, George Chiesa

 

In response to your questions:

 

HRP has held 32 events in the Tower of London moat since January 2015.
After 9 of these events, the moat required some reseeding and/or
returfing. Please see details of these events in the attached table below.
There has been no irreversible environmental damage to the moat or its
surroundings as a consequence of these events other than a temporary loss
of grass.

 

The events held in the moat do not impact the ground below or the
exteriors of the Tower of London. The turf does not contain any rare
species of grass or flowers and is not listed as a separate protected area
by Natural England or any other environmental agency. The grass in the
moat is replaced like for like after each event.

 

+---------------------------+
| | |Event |
| | |Dates |
|Year |Event |(including|
| | |build and |
| | |de-rig |
| | |periods) |
|-------+--------+----------|
| |Pavilion|19 May |
|2015/16|Summer |2015 – 10 |
| | |July 2015 |
|-------+--------+----------|
| |Pavilion|6 Nov 2015|
| |Winter |– 8 Jan |
| | |2016 |
|-------+--------+----------|
| | |2 Nov 2015|
| |Ice Rink|– 11 Jan |
| | |2016 |
|-------+--------+----------|
| |Pavilion|24 May |
|2016/17|Summer |2016 – 14 |
| | |July 2016 |
|-------+--------+----------|
| |Pavilion|4 Nov 2016|
| |Winter |– 6 Jan |
| | |2017 |
|-------+--------+----------|
| | |1 Nov 2016|
| |Ice Rink|– 15 Jan |
| | |2017 |
|-------+--------+----------|
| |Pavilion|23 May |
|2017/18|Summer |2017 – 13 |
| | |July 2017 |
|-------+--------+----------|
| |Pavilion|3 Nov 2017|
| |Winter |–  5 Jan |
| | |2018 |
|-------+--------+----------|
| | |1 Nov 2017|
| |Ice Rink|– 14 Jan |
| | |2018 |
+---------------------------+

 

The total cost of reinstating the grass between 2015 and 2018 was
£129,542. This cost was met directly by HRP and/or by the client who
requested the event. All of the events were undertaken in order to raise
money for HRP so that we can continue to conserve the palaces in our care
for future generations, and to give the palaces a future as valuable as
their past.

 

HRP has an internal review procedure. If you are not happy with our
response, you may request an internal review by writing to The Head of
Governance via post (The Head of Governance, Chief Executive’s Office, Apt
39, Hampton Court Palace, Surrey, KT8 9AU) or via email ([Historic Royal Palaces request email])
explaining your reasons for seeking a review. If you are then not happy
with the outcome of the internal review, you may then apply directly to
the Information Commissioner for a decision. 

 

The Information Commissioner’s Office can be contacted at:

 

Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Website: www.ico.org.uk

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Dominique Phipp

Assistant to the Head of Governance

Sent on behalf of the Head of Governance

Historic Royal Palaces

 

 

From: George Chiesa

Sent: Wednesday, 18 July, 09:10

Subject: Freedom of Information request - Continuous re-turfing of Tower
of London moat.

To: Rachael Gilleard

Dear Historic Royal Palaces, I wonder if you can tell me dates and reasons
- say in the last 3 years - for the Tower of London moat turf being
destroyed by ad-hoc constructions for events, then returfed, to be soon
destroyed again by the next event. What are the environmental consequences
and cost of this? Thanks in advance. Yours faithfully, George Chiesa
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Historic Royal Palaces is a registered charity (No 1068852),
correspondence details, Hampton Court Palace, Surrey KT8 9AU Historic
Royal Palaces Enterprises Ltd, a company registered in England (No
3418583) registered office Hampton Court Palace, Surrey KT8 9AU.

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