Four East Staffordshire parks have been recognised as part of the Green Flag Award Scheme for their work with the quality of the respective green area.
A record-breaking 1,797 parks across the country have been handed the awards by Green Flag this year; this celebrates the quality of the park.
Branston Water Park, Stapenhill Gardens, Bramshall Road Park, in Uttoxeter, and the Kingfisher Trail are included on the list and are flying the flag for high-quality green spaces in East Staffordshire.
The award scheme is now in its third decade of celebrating parks, judging them on how the areas are maintained, their environmental standards and facilities available for visitors.
East Staffordshire borough councillor Colin Whittaker, deputy leader for cultural services, has explained what receiving the award means to the parks in the region.
Mr Whittaker said: “We are absolutely delighted to receive a Green Flag Award for four of our parks. We know how much quality green spaces matter to residents and visitors, and this award celebrates the dedication that goes into maintaining our parks to such a high standard.
“A special mention should also go tour officers and community groups who have put in many hours of work to ensure our standards are maintained at these parks and open spaces.”
Manager of the International Green Flag Award scheme Paul Todd said: “We are delighted to be celebrating another record-breaking year for the Green Flag Award scheme.
“Each flag is a celebration of the thousands of staff and volunteers who work tirelessly to maintain the high standards demanded by the Green Flag Award. The success of the scheme, especially in these challenging times, demonstrates just how much parks matter to people.”
How are the parks judged?
Green Flag has revealed the criteria that is judged when considering a green space or park for the award.
A key component is how the site is set up in terms of management and how well it is run. A firm understanding of who uses the park, what makes the site unique in terms of history and clear management strategies are all monitored by the group.
Parks are judged across eight different sections which split into 27 separate sub-sections.
‘A welcoming place’ looks at how welcoming and inviting a park appears. It considers the accessibility of the park and how open it is to anyone, along with how safe it is.
The second section is ‘health, safe and secure’, which evaluates how well managers understand people who visit their area. The availability of safety equipment and facilities and how they control dogs in the part also falls under this umbrella.
‘Well maintained and clean’ considers how the area looks, such as how litter is handled, maintenance of buildings, grounds and equipment and any policies in place when it comes to litter and vandalism.
How the area impacts on the environment is looked at in the ‘Environmental management’ section. Chemical use and how the area tries to minimise the amount of waste they have is considered, along with strategies that are in place to tackle climate change adaption.
Section five, entitled ‘biodiversity, landscape and heritage’ judges the area on wildlife features, such as trees and flowers and how they are looked after in the parks.
‘Community involvement’ revolves around how well management at the park know and understand the people who use the space and the number of opportunities they create to try to involve members of the community.
Concentration of how the park space promotes and markets themselves is judged, along with how well an overall management plan is implemented across the whole area.
Judges visit the parks and ask questions of staff, volunteers and visitors so that they can get a real grasp for how the park is viewed in the eyes of those for use it the most.
