About us
Introduction to the Environment Department and Natural Environment Division
The Environment Department is the City of London Corporation’s largest department, with around 800 staff working across 25 sites to deliver essential front-line, regulatory and specialist services for the Square Mile, London and beyond. Its work spans planning and development, building control, highways and transportation, cleansing and waste, environmental health, licensing and trading standards, alongside the management of major open spaces, the City of London Cemetery and Crematorium, Heathrow Animal Reception Centre, London-wide animal health services and the London Port Health Authority.
Within this wider departmental context, the Natural Environment Division is one of six divisions within the Environment Department. It manages more than 11,000 acres of historic and natural open spaces in and around London, working collaboratively with teams across the department and wider organisation to protect, enhance and promote these valued places. Its portfolio includes forests, heaths, grasslands, urban parks, commons, lakes, ponds, sports facilities, and heritage assets. These spaces support biodiversity, climate action, recreation, learning, community wellbeing, and access to nature.
Our key Natural Environment Sites are:
- Epping Forest: 6,118 acres of internationally important wood-pasture, ancient trees, lakes and recreational facilities.
- Hampstead Heath: 791 acres of woodland, grassland, ponds, sports facilities and event venues.
- Highgate Wood & Queen’s Park: Ancient woodland and a major urban park with playgrounds and sports provision.
- West Ham Park: 77-acre Grade II listed park with gardens, sports facilities and wildlife habitats.
- The Commons: Nine ecologically and historically important sites, including Burnham Beeches, Stoke Common, Ashtead Common, Coulsdon Common, Farthing Downs, Riddlesdown, West Wickham Common and Kenley Common.
In addition to 350 employees, the Natural Environment Division is supported by approximately 1,000 volunteers, contributing about 72,000 hours each year. Governance is provided through the Natural Environment Board and site-specific committees for Epping Forest and Commons, Hampstead Heath/Highgate Wood/Queen’s Park, and West Ham Park.
Our Strategic Priorities are:
- Nature conservation and resilience: Protect biodiversity, strengthen ecological resilience and respond to climate change.
- Community engagement: Build partnerships, remove barriers to participation and encourage shared ownership.
- Access and recreation: Balance public enjoyment with conservation, safety and sustainable visitor use.
- Culture, heritage and learning: Promote wellbeing, environmental education, heritage protection and strong asset management.
The Division’s 2024/25 budget is £15.23 million. Its assets include 79 sports pitches, 3 swimming pools, 32 tennis courts and 1 golf course. The portfolio has received 15 Green Flag awards, including heritage recognition. Climate commitments include reaching net zero direct carbon emissions by 2027 and net zero overall by 2040.
Find out more about our Natural Environment Charities here.
See our Natural Environment 2025.pdf here.
Introduction to the City of London Corporation
The City of London Corporation is the governing body of the Square Mile dedicated to a vibrant and thriving City, supporting a diverse and sustainable London within a globally successful UK.
The City of London Corporation looks after the City of London (‘the City’ or ‘Square Mile’) on behalf of all who live, study, work, and visit, providing modern, efficient, and high-quality local services and policing for all.
We have a long history, a unique constitution, our own Lord Mayor, and a dedicated police service keeping the City safe.
Our independent and non-partisan political voice and convening power enables us to promote the interests of people and organisations across London and the UK and play a valued role on the world stage.
We aim to support London’s communities through responsible business, charitable giving, improving the capital’s air quality, providing education and skills for young people, and delivering affordable housing across London.
We protect and conserve 19 major green spaces in London and Southeast England – including Hampstead Heath and Epping Forest – and approximately 180 smaller ones in the Square Mile. They include important wildlife habitats, sites of scientific interest and national nature reserves. They are protected from being built on by special legislation.
We are the port health authority for London, the largest port health authority in the UK. We protect public health by preventing infectious disease, ensuring water quality, making vessel inspections, and enforcing environmental controls.
The City Corporation provides local government services for our 8,600 residents (Census 2021) and 678,000 City workers (Office for National Statistics 2022) based in the Square Mile. To be truly representative of its population, businesses and other organisations registered in the Square Mile are entitled to nominate voters to City elections so that, alongside registered residents, they can have a say on the way the City Corporation is run.
Committees and Meetings
The City of London Corporation operates through a structure of elected Members and committees, covering a diverse range of activities. Committees of elected Members set City Corporation policy and oversee the work of departments. All committee reports and agendas are available from the Town Clerk’s Department before a meeting takes place. Public agendas and reports are also available to the public ahead of meetings. Our Chief and Senior Officers generate and submit papers for review in public and private committee meetings.
Corporate Plan and People Strategy
We are pleased that you are exploring the City of London Corporation.
Over the next five years, we will provide leadership at local, London-wide, national, and international levels through the outcomes articulated in our new Corporate Plan 2024 – 2029. This corporate plan provides direction and leadership on the issues that matter, including tackling the climate crisis; growing the economy to support jobs and businesses and fund public services; and embracing new technologies that can transform education and healthcare.
Our Corporate Plan is designed to ensure the City Corporation focuses on its ambition to be a world-class organisation that fully embraces the needs and diversity of the communities it serves. This is leadership not just for our generation, but for the generations of the future.
Six outcomes guide our leadership at local, London-wide, national, and international levels:
Diverse Engaged Communities
Across the City’s residents, workers, businesses, and visitors, everyone should feel that they belong. Connecting people of all ages and backgrounds will help build diverse, engaged communities that are involved in co-creating great services and outcomes.
Dynamic Economic Growth
The City of London is the engine in the country’s economy. Driving dynamic economic growth in financial and professional services at local, national, and international levels will create jobs, attract investment, and support businesses across communities and the country.
Leading Sustainable Environment
The City Corporation has a responsibility to ensure that it acts as a leader on environmental sustainability and strives to enhance it in all aspects of how it works. Climate action, resilience, air quality, and sustainability are all facets of ambitious targets for the entire City to be net zero by 2040.
Vibrant Thriving Destination
Attracting businesses and people to a safe, secure, and dynamic location is vital to the City’s future. A world-leading culture and leisure offer is integral to creating a vibrant, thriving destination where everyone prospers.
Providing Excellent Services
Supporting people to live healthy, independent lives and achieve their ambitions is dependent on excellent services. Vital to that continued pursuit is enabling access to effective adult and children’s social care, outstanding education, lifelong learning, quality housing, and combatting homelessness.
Flourishing Public Spaces
From its markets and cultural icons, such as the Barbican, to its world-famous, bridges and amazing green spaces, the City Corporation is a steward of unique national assets. Major capital investment into our civic fabric will secure flourishing public spaces, enabling a more successful London overall.
Our People Strategy 2024-29 has been launched in parallel with our Corporate Plan. This strategy will help us create an exceptional work environment where our people feel safe and deeply connected with our vision and values. It will help us create an environment where employees have the skills, recognition, and motivation to deliver our exciting and ambitious Corporate Plan.
Five themes make up our people strategy, and through them we will create a culture that encourages excellent performance and embeds equality, equity, diversity, inclusion, and health and safety in everything we do.
- My Contribution, My Reward – Ambition 25
We will provide flexible, sustainable, fair, equitable and transparent reward and recognition opportunities for our people, beginning with the Ambition 25 project. These will help attract a diverse array of excellent people. - My Wellbeing and Belonging
We will be inclusive, diverse and people orientated. We will make sure all people are supported, challenged, and motivated. And we will create a flexible working environment that takes personal commitments into consideration. - Trustworthy Leadership
We will develop a community of leaders and managers at all levels who create an inclusive and respectful environment. All leaders and managers will consistently role model our values. They will be able to confidently engage with, empower, develop, challenge, and celebrate our people. They will also understand how to take measured risks and deliver excellent outcomes. - My Talent and Development
We will attract and retain excellent, diverse, local, and national talent to support the success of the City Corporation. We will continue to create opportunities for people to develop and grow professionally. Existing and new employees will be able to easily access exciting new opportunities within City Corporation. We will support and encourage them to develop in their current roles and to progress to future roles anywhere across City Corporation. They will want to stay in, thrive in and be part of a world-class organisation, but they will have the confidence, skills, and capabilities to move on when the time is right. - Building Brilliant Basics
By putting simple and efficient processes and policies in place, we will set our people up for success and allow them to focus on doing their job effectively. Our policies, processes and practices will be fully legally compliant and simple to use and understand. They will support managers and employees to work together easily and efficiently, giving them the tools to deliver their work well.
Working together, there is no limit to what we can, and will, achieve.