Friday's the day the teddy bears have their picnic

16 August 2011  

An Edwardian park in Grange over Sands has once again won a coveted Green Flag for the fifth year in a row and has been recognised as a Green Heritage Site for the second time. 

To celebrate this important accolade and to raise the Green Flag, South Lakeland District Council and the Friends of Park Road Gardens are holding a Teddy Bears Picnic with local children from Grange over Sands on Friday 19 August at 2.30pm.  They will be joined by Councillor Clare Feeney-Johnson, portfolio holder for Environment and Sustainability, Councillor Tom Harvey, Mayor of Grange over Sands and staff from SLDC and Continental Landscapes.  

Throughout the whole of the UK there are 49 heritage awards with only nine awarded to parks in the northwest.  Green Heritage Site Accreditation is given in recognition of achieving a high standard in the management and interpretation of a site with local or national historic importance.  This is the second year in a row the park has been recognised as a Green Heritage Site, and to be one of only nine in the northwest highlights that the park is consistently reaching very high environmental standards. 

Both green awards also acknowledge the hard work of the Friends of Park Road Gardens who are all volunteers from Grange over Sands.

Councillor Clare Feeney-Johnson, portfolio holder for Environment and Sustainability, said: “A fifth Green Flag for Park Road Gardens and to be awarded as a Green Heritage Site for the second year in a row is fantastic news.  Everyone works very hard to maintain such high standards at this well loved local park and I would like to thank the Friends of Park Road Gardens for their continued help and support.  The council will carry on working with the Friends and our contractor, Continental Landscapes, to ensure Park Road Gardens continues being a wonderful place to visit and enjoy.” 

The Mayor of Grange over Sands, Councillor Tom Harvey, said: This is great news for Grange and the Friends, who are very passionate about Park Road Gardens and give up a tremendous amount of time voluntarily to achieve this success.  I am delighted that the park has won a Green Flag for the fifth year in a row and would like to thank everyone involved for all their hard work.”