18 October 2016
Thousands vote in poll to find the most loved Green Flag Award-winning parks.
#PeoplesChoice
Thousands vote in poll to find the most loved Green Flag Award-winning parks
After a month of voting, the nation has had its say and the ten favourite parks in the UK can now be revealed.
In total, more than 30,000 people voted and this year's ten best-loved parks are dotted across the country from London to South Lanarkshire, Port Talbot to Rotherham.
And it turns out that variety is the spice of life as far as the public is concerned. The parks vary in size and scale from Warley Woods in the West Midlands, which is run by a charitable community trust, to Margam Park, an 850-acre country park estate in Port Talbot, and Clifton Park in the heart of Rotherham, which boasts rides and games, as well as a museum.
The Green Flag Award, managed by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy in partnership with Keep Wales Tidy, Keep Scotland Beautiful and Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful, is the international mark of quality green space and the People's Choice poll reflects just how much communities up and down the country value their parks and green spaces.
International Green Flag Award Manager Paul Todd said: "The Green Flag Awards are judged every year by an army of more than 800 volunteer judges, but the People's Choice is the public's opportunity to vote for their favourite parks and it is wonderful that more than 30,000 people have done just that this year as the scheme celebrates its 20th Anniversary.
"Winning a Green Flag Award is testament to the hard work of local authorities and the managers of public green space up and down the country along with hundreds of thousands of volunteers. More than 1,700 parks this year are flying the Green Flag Award and the People's Choice Award shows them just how much that hard work is appreciated by the public.
"The People's Choice Award also shows that communities value all their green space, not just traditional parks."
The People's Choice parks are (in alphabetical order)
|
Alexandra Palace Park |
Alexandra Palace Charitable Trust |
|
Arlington Square Gardens |
Arlington Association |
|
Clifton Park |
Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council |
|
Elsecar Park and Local Reservoir Nature Reserve |
Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council |
|
Margam Park |
Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council |
|
Millennium Country Park |
Forest of Marston Vale Trust |
|
Mote Park |
Maidstone Borough Council |
|
Strathaven Park |
South Lanarkshire Council |
|
Victoria Park (Tower Hamlets) |
London Borough of Tower Hamlets |
|
Warley Woods |
Warley Woods Community Trust |
Millenium Country Park - Forest of Marston Vale Trust
