Photo Copyright The Royal Parks Foundation
This summer’s heat-wave has meant that London’s green spaces are busier than ever, with many people choosing to hire a deckchair when they visit the park. With this in mind, The Royal Parks Foundation, the charity organisation that raises money to protect London’s eight Royal Parks, has asked security firm Selectamark to indelibly mark some of its 4,000 deckchairs so that it is clear that they are official park property. Clare Bowen of Royal Parks Foundation said: “Although we have attendants to keep an eye on the deckchairs, we asked Selectamark to mark 700 of our deckchairs. We chose the Selectamark product because it is very easy to use and apart from clearly identifying our deckchairs, we hope it will act as a deterrent against theft.” The deckchair season in the Royal Parks runs until the end of September and it costs £1.50 to hire a deckchair for two hours or £2.00 for four hours. Chris Taylor, managing director of Selectamark, said: “We are very excited to be involved with this scheme for the Royal Parks Foundation. We already know that Selectamark has been a very effective deterrent in crime hotspots and in property marking schemes across the UK.” The Royal Parks are some of London’s greatest attractions and millions of Londoners and tourists visit the 5,000 acres of historic parkland each year. The Royal Parks are: Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, The Regent’s Park (with Primrose Hill), Richmond Park, St James’s Park, The Green Park, Bushy Park, and Greenwich Park. It costs nearly £30 million a year to keep The Royal Parks safe, clean and in top condition. The Royal Parks Foundation is currently running Deckchair Dreams, a fundraising initiative, (sponsored by financial services firm Bloomberg) which has commissioned 24 ‘designer deckchairs’ from celebrities from the worlds of food, fashion, music, architecture and art. The celebrities include fashion designers Alexander McQueen and Paul Smith, celebrated photographer Mario Testino, River Café founders Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers, film director Ken Russell and composer Michael Nyman. Trustee of The Royal Parks Zac Goldsmith said: “This is an excellent, imaginative and colourful way to raise much needed funds for The Royal Parks. Deckchairs are such a British icon …We hope that people will enjoy relaxing on the new designs and find them thought-provoking.” The deckchairs can be purchased for £80 each. Postcards of each of the designs are available to buy online at the Royal Parks Foundation website: www.royalparksfoundation.org/deckchairdreams Selectamark Security Systems plc, 1 Locks Court, 429 Crofton Road, Locksbottom, Kent, BR6 8NL. Contact: Jim Brown. Telephone: +44 (0)1689 860757. Fax: +44 (0)1689 860693. Website: www.selectamark.co.uk
Royal Parks Foundation. Press and PR enquiries. Telephone: 020 7298 2128
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For more information about Deckchair Dreams: www.royalparksfoundation.org/deckchairdreams Caption: A deckchair designed by River Café founders Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers for The Royal Parks Foundation fundraising initiative Deckchair Dreams. Picture: Millie Burton for The Royal Parks Foundation. Free for editorial use only. | 
