Leeds parks awarded the coveted Green Flag Award as they are officially recognised as some of the country’s best parks

The award is the international quality mark for parks and green spaces and recognises the beautifully maintained environment within the parks and the excellent visitor facilities.

Councillor Salma Arif, Leeds City Council’s executive member for public health and active lifestyles, said:

“After two years that have seen our parks and green spaces play a vital role for people through lockdowns as a place to relax, exercise and meet friends and family safely, the news that these parks have achieved the Green Flag Award is testament to the hard work and dedication of the team that make the green spaces a great space that everyone can enjoy.

“We are very focussed on continuing with our ambition of ensuring that all communities in Leeds have access to good quality green space and maintaining and looking after our current greenspaces is vital to that.”

Commenting on the news that these parks have met the Green Flag Award standard, Keep Britain Tidy’s Accreditation Manager Paul Todd, said:

“I would like to congratulate everyone involved in making these seven Leeds parks worthy of a Green Flag Award.

“These parks are vital green spaces for the community in Leeds. This award is testament to all the hard work of staff and volunteers, who do so much to ensure that they maintain the high standards demanded by the Green Flag Award.”

"The Green Flag Award scheme, managed by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, 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."

A full list of Green Flag Award-winning parks and green spaces is available here

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Notes to editors

The Green Flag Award Scheme (http://greenflagaward.org/) is run by the environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, in partnership with Keep Scotland Beautiful, Keep Wales Tidy and Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful.

Keep Britain Tidy is a leading environmental charity. It sets the standard for the management of parks and beaches, inspires people to be litter-free, to waste less and live more sustainably. It runs campaigns and programmes including the Great British Spring Clean, Eco-Schools, Love Parks, Eco-Schools, the Green Flag Award for parks and green spaces and the Blue Flag/ Seaside Awards for beaches. To find out more about Keep Britain Tidy, its campaigns and programmes visit www.keepbritaintidy.org.

Any green space that is freely accessible to the public is eligible to enter for a Green Flag Award.  Awards are given on an annual basis and winners must apply each year to renew their Green Flag Award status.  A Green Flag Community Award recognises quality sites managed by voluntary and community groups. Green Heritage Site Accreditation is judged on the treatment of the site’s historic features and the standard of conservation.