We’re so lucky! Our Chair is a leading UK Parks professional

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Not many local park groups can say that their Chair was in charge of a £26 million park renovation budget! We can.

The Friends of Lowndes Park is led by an amazing man; Michael Rowan. Michael co-founded the group in 2007 and he’s not just a Chesham resident, he’s also a leading UK Parks professional.

We’re very lucky to have him and his expertise at the helm. Not only do we benefit from his experience, wisdom and connections, it also really helps us with our fundraising. You can be sure that when you donate to us, the money is being used in a professional and useful way.

Here’s Michael’s biography in his own words:

Serendipity by its very nature frequently takes one by surprise and so it was in my case.

Mid- morning 2007, walking across an office in East London when I happened to glance at a technical drawing draped across a desk. It was a drawing of a park that looked very familiar.

‘That’s Lowndes Park’ I said stating the obvious to the author of the drawing. ‘Yes’ he said, ‘do you know it?’
‘Know it? I live less than a 5-minute walk from it.’
And so I discovered that a consultant was drawing up plans for a lottery application for our very own Lowndes Park.

Coincidences didn’t stop there as I learnt that there were two people working on the plans and that the other person was a friend of mine. From there it was a short step for this friend to tell me (in no uncertain terms) that the park needed a Friends Group in order to submit the bid and that I should get off my bottom (he phrased it more bluntly) and start the Friends of Lowndes Park.

I had known this friend since the start up of the Heritage Lottery Fund Parks Programme, of which he was the Director whilst I was involved in submitting a bid for Gunnersbury Park in West London. We remained friends when I submitted another bid for Chiswick House Grounds also in West London. Two parks with amazing historic landscapes which I was proud to be associated with from the out-set.

Garden Landscape restoration was in its infancy and I learned such a lot of valuable lessons at the feet of a ;