North Tyneside’s award-winning parks have been awarded six prestigious Green Flags today (Thursday 21 July) as national recognition for their beauty and environmental excellence.
This year stunning Northumberland Park has also been acknowledged as one of the best parks and open spaces in the country. The park – which recently underwent a £5 million renovation funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and North Tyneside Council – joins beautiful Wallsend Parks, Benton Quarry Park, Marden Quarry Park, Killingworth Lakeside Park and The Rising Sun Country Park in the coveted awards.
In addition the Friends of Brierdene, a residents-led volunteer group who manage their local green space in Whitley Bay, have once again retained the Green Flag Community Award.
Green flags are awarded annually by national environmental and conservation groups, led by Keep Britain Tidy, to outstanding spaces which have the highest possible standards, are beautifully maintained and demonstrate a commitment to continual improvement and development.
Welcoming the announcement, Elected Mayor Norma Redfearn said: “I am absolutely delighted that North Tyneside’s parks have once again been recognised nationally for their beauty, their excellence and their community facilities.”
Cllr Eddie Darke, Cabinet member for Leisure, Culture and Tourism added: “Our beautiful parks and open spaces are green havens that have so much to offer. These awards are a testament to the hard work that is being invested by the council and our community volunteers to make sure they remain places that people want to come back to time and time again.”
Friends of Brierdene Chairman, Peter Brown said: “We are delighted that our coastal green oasis is again recognised for a prestigious Green Flag Community Award for the fourth year in a row. The Brierdene wildlife site is a place for all to enjoy providing something new and different to see every day of the year thanks to the ongoing work of our volunteers”
Northumberland Park is the latest park to be awarded a Green Flag. It opened last year following a £5million restoration project funded by Heritage Lottery Fund and North Tyneside Council.
Historic and lost Victorian features were restored and modern visitor attractions – including the Glasshouse tea-room, toilets and education space – were added. Improvements were also made to the watercourses and lake and new colourful borders and a medieval herb garden were planted with help from the New Friends of Northumberland Park, and a successful gardening group.
Notes to editors:
- Over three million people visited the Rising Sun Country Park, Wallsend Parks and Northumberland Park last year. Tens of thousands more are estimated to have visited the other Green Flag award winning parks throughout the year.
- Over 9,000 children participated in an educational visit at our parks with our Environmental Education and Outdoor Learning Service either through their school or an educational event.
- Local residents completed over 5,000 hours worth of volunteer hours in our parks.
- Over 35,000 people attended events in our parks across the year, including over 10,000 people celebrating the launch of Northumberland Park in August 2015 after it’s Heritage Lottery Funded and Big Lottery Funded ‘Parks for People’ regeneration project.
Ends