Eight Salford parks and two cemeteries have been voted amongst the best green spaces in Britain in the annual Green Flag Awards.
Lightoaks Park has achieved Green Flag status for the first time, while Agecroft Cemetery, Blackleach Country Park, Boothsbank Park, Clifton Country Park, Parr Fold Park, Peel Green Cemetery, Peel Park (The Crescent), Victoria Park and Winton Park have all kept the award.
Councillor Barbara Bentham, Lead Member for Neighbourhoods, Environment and Community Safety, said:
“This new award is particularly thrilling for me as Lightoaks Park is in my ward of Claremont. I know how hard the Friends of Lightoaks Park and our parks teams have worked, it has been a long labour of love and it’s fantastic to see the their efforts paying off.
“We’re committed to preserving and enhancing our green spaces for residents and for future generations and this recognition reflects all the hard work involved in achieving the high standards that the Green Flag Award requires. I’d like to thank and congratulate everyone behind this achievement, especially the many volunteers across the city who support council staff in maintaining and improving local parks and green spaces.”
The spaces are rated on being welcoming, clean, healthy, safe and secure and how well they involve the local community. Judges assess all these areas against strict criteria.
Awards are given on an annual basis and winners must apply each year to renew their Green Flag status for each site.
The Green Flag scheme is run by the environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, under license from the government.
