Twelve Northumberland parks have been awarded prestigious Green Flag Awards by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, which recognises them as some of the very best in the country.
The Green Flag Award is a prestigious benchmark of quality for a park or green space. This international award, now celebrating its 27th year, is a sign to the public that the space boasts the highest possible environmental standards, is beautifully maintained and has excellent visitor facilities.
Northumberland’s winning green spaces are: Berwick parks (Castle Vale and Coronation Parks), Plessey Woods Country Park, Bolam Lake Country Park, Ridley Park (Blyth), Astley Park (Seaton Delaval), Sele Park (Hexham), Carlisle Park (Morpeth), Dr Pit Park (Bedlington), Hirst Park (Ashington), Alexandra Park (Cramlington), Eastwoods Park (Prudhoe) and Druridge Bay Country Park Northumberland County Councillor Colin Horncastle, Cabinet Member for Looking After our Environment said: “Our local parks and green spaces are at the heart of our communities and are very much valued by all who visit them.
“We invest in and work very hard to continually improve our parks and we are delighted to have retained the Green Flag status and increased the number of parks that have such status from 11 to 12, with Druridge Bay Country Park also now securing the accolade this year.
“Each Green Flag Award is a testament to the dedication and hard work that has been put in by our residents and local volunteers and our own staff, towards maintaining the parks to very high standards.”
Keep Britain Tidy’s Green Flag Award Scheme Manager Paul Todd MBE said: “I would like to congratulate everyone involved with the Northumberland parks in achieving a Green Flag Award.
“Northumberland parks are vital green spaces for the community, bringing people together and providing opportunities to lead healthy lifestyles. The staff and volunteers do so much to ensure that it maintains the high standards of the Green Flag Award and everyone involved should feel extremely proud of their achievement.”
The Green Flag Award scheme, managed by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, recognises and rewards well-managed parks and green spaces, setting the benchmark standard for the management of green spaces across the United Kingdom and around the world.