Fifty years since the creation of the Lee Valley Regional Park and the authority that is responsible for it, Shaun Dawson explains how partnership working with local authorities has been crucial for the park's development

F ifty years ago the Lee Valley was bleak and neglected. Today it tells a very different story. Back in the 1960s Lou Sherman was an influential figure within the political scene of London and the surrounding region. An alderman in the borough of Hackney and a London County Council member, in August 1961 he invited a number of local authority representatives on a boat trip along the River Lee, the capital's second river.