I love this time of year. 

The sun is out, Greenwich Park looks terrific and more and more local people and visitors from around the world are here in Greenwich, enjoying all the park has to offer.

I imagine London will be a lot like this in 2012; a multi-national audience and infectious festival atmosphere wherever you go.

Greenwich Park has been used for plenty of activities over the years but this will be the first time it'll be used for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. 

Despite the significance of these events I’m confident the park will emerge undamaged.

For a start, the Cross Country event involves a single day of competition with each horse going around the course once. Although there will be up to 75 competitors in total, only a few horses will be on the course at any one time. They are not allowed to practice beforehand. A lot of the jumps will be pre-fabricated and assembled off-site and then brought into the park at the last minute. And no trees will be removed to accommodate the 2012 Games.

I understand the concern of local residents but, if you look back over history, far more sustained and strenuous use of the park has taken place.

In Henry VIII's time, for example, they put a fence around the perimeter to keep the deer in for hunting and the people out

Another reason for my confidence is the sheer amount of time, effort and care that's being invested in looking after Greenwich Park.

LOCOG has organized for every tree to be surveyed to determine when, and where, birds are nesting, while the park's archaeology has been fully documented by English Heritage. 

Similarly, plans are being drawn up to protect the nocturnal habitat of the park's bat population, ensuring any necessary security lighting is directed away from the areas they inhabit.

Organisations such as English Heritage, Natural England and others, simply wouldn’t allow any damage to occur to anything of archaeological interest or ecological significance, Games or not.

I do think the Arena area, to the north of the park, south of Queen's House, will be re-seeded after the Games end.
 
But the grass there is not the more sensitive acid grass found is some other areas of the Park and it's an area that's already been dug up, during the 'Dig for Victory' campaign during World War II.

Greenwich Park is a magnificent open space for Londoners, and visitors, to enjoy.

It's in the interests of the Royal Parks, and everyone else, to ensure we do all we can to protect and preserve it for generations to come.

That's why I remain confident in LOCOG's commitment to giving us the park back in the same condition, if not better, than it was before the Games began.