Coveted Green Flag Awards for Wirral parks

26 July 2022

Birkenhead Park in spring, with daffodils in the foreground and the Swiss Bridge in the background

Daffodils in Birkenhead Park, with the famous Swiss Bridge in the background

Wirral is celebrating after receiving 33 Green Flag Awards for parks and open spaces across the borough.

The award is the international quality mark for parks and green spaces and 30 of Wirral’s parks scooped Green Flag awards this year.

Birkenhead Park, and Port Sunlight Village which is managed by Port Sunlight Village Trust, have also achieved the Green Heritage Site Accreditation, supported by Historic England, for the management of their historic features. In addition New Ferry Butterfly Park managed by Cheshire Wildlife Trust was awarded the Green Flag Community Award, bringing the total awards in Wirral to 33.

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 Wirral has achieved so many Green Flag Awards is testament to the hard work and dedication of the teams that make the green space a great space that everyone can enjoy.

Cllr Liz Grey, Chair of Wirral Council's Environment, Climate Emergency and Transport Committee, said: “Wirral has again managed to achieve 30 Green Flags for our parks and green spaces.

“These awards are a recognition of the many hours of work put in at these sites by both staff and Wirral’s invaluable volunteers so that we can all continue to enjoy so many fantastic open spaces right across the borough.

“I'd like to once again say a heartfelt thank you to all those involved in helping us reach this achievement and keeping our borough looking its very best.”

Commenting on the news that Wirral has 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 sites worthy of a Green Flag Award.

“These are vital green spaces for the communities in Wirral. This award is testament to all the hard work of staff and volunteers, who do so much to ensure that it maintains 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.

The successful parks in Wirral are:

Ashton Park Wirral Council

Bidston Hill Wirral Council

Birkenhead Park

Brotherton Park and Dibbinsdale Local Nature Reserve

Central Park (Wirral)

Coronation Gardens

Dawstone Park

Eastham Country Park

Flaybrick Memorial Gardens

Frankby Cemetery

Hamilton Square

Harrison Park Wirral

Heswall Dales

Hilbre Island Local Nature Reserve

Landican Cemetery

Mayer Park

Meols Parade Gardens

North Wirral Coastal Park

Queen's Park (Wirral)

Rake Lane Cemetery

Royden Park

The Arno

The Breck

Thornton Hough Village Green

Torr Park Eastham

Vale Park

Victoria Gardens (West Kirby)

Victoria Park

Walker Park

Wirral Country Park

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

Additional information about Green Flag Awards

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.