Green Flag status awarded to 11 Suffolk parks, including in Bury St Edmunds, Haverhill, Felixstowe, Ipswich and Lowestoft
Several Suffolk parks have been given a prestigious award which recognises well maintained and managed green spaces.
Nationally, more than 2,000 parks have achieved the Green Flag Award, which honours sites for their cleanliness and maintenance by volunteers and community groups.
This year, 11 Suffolk parks were among those honoured.
In West Suffolk, six parks were given the Green Flag status, including Abbey Gardens and Nowton Park in Bury St Edmunds; West Stow Country Park in West Stow; Brandon Country Park, in Brandon, near Thetford; East Town Park in Haverhill and Aspal Close Nature Reserve in Beck Row, near Mildenhall.
This is the fifth year in a row that all six parks in West Suffolk have achieved the status.
Cllr Ian Shipp, cabinet member for leisure, said: “As part of our strategic priority for thriving communities, it’s important that people can access our parks and green spaces to support their physical and mental health.
“We are continuing to invest in our parks to ensure they are green, clean and attractive places where people can enjoy nature, where they can meet for a picnic or a walk, go for a run and where children can play.
“Our parks and green spaces form part of strategic priority for environmental resilience supporting a range of biodiversity including bees, butterflies and other pollinators and wildlife.
“I am delighted that we have continued to demonstrate the award-winning appeal of our parks. It’s a testament to the hard work of our staff and volunteers and my thanks goes to each and every one of them.”
In East Suffolk, Felixstowe Seafront Gardens has won the award for ninth year in a row.
It follows East Suffolk Council’s four-year restoration project, launched in 2011, to return the Grade II listed green space to its former glory as part of a town-wide regeneration programme.
Judges praised the gardens environmental management and biodiversity initiatives.
Mayor of Felixstowe, Cllr David Rowe, said: “It’s wonderful to see that Felixstowe Seafront Gardens have been awarded a Green Flag for the ninth consecutive year.
“The Friends of Felixstowe Seafront Gardens do a dedicated job of caring for the Gardens, so that residents and visitors can enjoy the peaceful and special place Felixstowe Seafront Gardens are.”
It is a double celebration for East Suffolk’s green spaces as Green Flag status has also been awarded to Woods Meadow Country Park, in Lowestoft, for a second successive year.
A local volunteer group has been integral in establishing the park, having been the driving force in planting an 11-hectare woodland and several new hedgerows.
Cllr Sarah Whitelock, East Suffolk’s cabinet member for communities, culture, leisure and tourism, said: “This is another proud achievement for everyone involved in the continued success of the Seafront Gardens and Woods Meadow as safe, clean and welcoming destinations for people to visit and enjoy.
“The award is in no small part thanks to the hard work of staff and volunteers in ensuring the highest standards when it comes to management and maintenance.”
In Ipswich, Christchurch Park, Holywells Parks and Bourne Park have also recognised.
The Green Flag Award scheme is managed by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
It 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.