Tea Party in the Park to celebrate two Green Awards

28 July 2010

South Lakeland District Council and the Friends of Park Road Gardens are once again celebrating the success of gaining a Green Flag and being recognised for the first time as a Green Heritage Site at Park Road Gardens in Grange over Sands. 

On Tuesday 3 August at 10am the Friends of Park Road Gardens will be holding a Tea Party to celebrate this important accolade.  They will be joined by Councillor Hilary Stephenson, Councillor Tom Harvey, Mayor of Grange over Sands and the ward member for Grange North, Councillor Bill Wearing.  Staff from SLDC and Continental Landscapes will also be attending the event to help raise the Green Flag.  

New additions to the gardens this year include an archway and seat crafted especially for the park by locally based Blacksmith, Philip Dalton. 

2010 is the fourth year in a row that a Green Flag has been awarded to the gardens, which is managed by South Lakeland District Council.  This year the park has also been acknowledged as a Green Heritage Site which highlights that the park is consistently reaching very high environmental standards, making it a pleasant environment for people to visit including local residents and visitors.  Both awards also recognise the hard work of the Friends of Park Road Gardens who are all volunteers at this popular park in Grange over Sands.

Councillor Hilary Stephenson, portfolio holder for Communities and Wellbeing, said, “Another Green Flag for Park Road Gardens is a fantastic achievement and to receive Green Heritage Site status for the site as well should be celebrated.  These two national and prestigious environmental awards recognise the hard work of everyone involved and the council would like to thank the Friends of Park Road Gardens for their help and support.  SLDC will continue to work with the Friends and the contractor, Continental Landscapes, to ensure high standards are maintained so the park remains a wonderful place to visit.”

The Green Flag Award scheme, managed by the Civic Trust and sponsored by English Heritage, began in 1996 as a way of recognising and rewarding the best green spaces in the country.  It was also seen as a way of encouraging others to achieve the same high environmental standards and creating a benchmark of excellence in recreational green areas.  Green Heritage Site Accreditation is given in recognition of achieving the required standard in the management and interpretation of a site with local or national historic importance.  Sites do not have to be on the English Heritage Register of Historic Parks and Gardens, but must be at least 30 years old and are judged against a list of criteria.