History of the Parks Service

The Parks Service of the Velocity Interoperability Network is a young institution, though the parks in its care are not. The milestones below record its establishment and will be extended as the Service's management plans, byelaws and reporting come into operation.

1. Before September 2026

   Parks kept by member organisations

   Before the Service existed, the parks and open spaces near the Network's sites were kept by the member organisations that occupied those sites, each under its own rules and with its own grounds staff. The reserves were managed under differing arrangements, and in the case of Kestrel Heath and Fennimore Quarry under no formal arrangement at all. There was no common register, no common opening hours or site rules, and no ranger service.

2. 10 August to 5 September 2026

   The transition period

   In the four weeks before establishment, member organisations transferred the sites, their grounds staff and their records to the new Service. Twenty-seven rangers were appointed to three area teams, automatic visitor counters were installed at car parks and principal entrances, and 64 permit applications were handled under interim arrangements. The 486,350 visits recorded in the period form the baseline for the Service's reporting.

3. 6 September 2026

   Service established

   The Parks Service of the Velocity Interoperability Network was formally established, with responsibility for the parks and reserves of the Network, their visitors, the events held in them and the permits that regulate organised activity within them.

4. 6 September 2026

   Official website launched

   The Service launched parks.gov.vin, carrying press releases, the register of parks and reserves, opening hours and site rules, the events programme, permit guidance and statistical releases.

5. 6 September 2026

   Register, permits, events programme and first statistics

   On the day of its establishment the Service entered twelve parks and reserves in its register, opened applications for six kinds of permit, published a programme of ten public events and volunteer tasks for the autumn, and published its first statistical release, covering the transition period.

6. Forthcoming

   Visitor centres, management plans, byelaws and quarterly reporting

   The Ashcombe Forest Visitor Centre and the Longwater Wetland Centre open on 12 September 2026 and the Eastfield Meadows Ranger Station on 19 September. Management plans for each of the six reserves, the byelaws that will apply across all sites, and the Service's first full quarterly report, covering the quarter ending 30 September 2026, will be announced in the Newsroom.

Announcements are published in the Newsroom. For the Service's present responsibilities and organisation, see About the Parks Service; for the sites it inherited, see Parks and Reserves; for the baseline figures from the transition period, see Statistics.