Flying Green Flags for picturesque parks

Steve Crew, Pete Heys, Gary Heap, John Shay, Kate Sutton (British Trust for Conservation Volunteers), John Crook, Gemma Cockley, Jason Addy (Friends of Memorial Gardens), Cllr Wera Hobhouse

Three of the borough's parks and open spaces have been awarded Green Flag status after impressing judges.

Green Flags now fly above the Memorial Gardens in Rochdale Town Centre and Queen's Park in Heywood, and the judges, who visited the three parks in June, also decided that Hare Hill Park in Littleborough should retain its green flag, awarded last year.

Green Flag status recognises excellence in parks provision and is externally assessed by English Heritage. The criteria on which they make their judgements cover everything from how safe and inviting the park is and how good the facilities are, to the level of community involvement in its management.

Councillor Wera Hobhouse, cabinet member for Environment and Sustainability, said: "This is wonderful news for the borough and reflects well on all the hard work put in by the friends groups and by Council staff.

"The quality of our parks and open spaces is very important to me and achieving three green flags is recognition of the improvements we are trying to make. The council has now set an ambitious target of achieving six green flag parks over the next three years'.

Martin Taylor, the Street Services Manager for Environmental Management said: "The success in gaining three green flags for our borough over such a short period of time is a testament to the excellent partnership working between the authority, its businesses, residents and external funding providers.

"The hard work and dedication of our operatives and Friends Groups has played a pivotal part in this achievement and they should be congratulated for this. I'm confident that we can take our successes further in the coming years and provide even more parks and public spaces that people can enjoy and take pride in."

Jason Addy of the Save Spodden Valley Campaign said: “The Save Spodden Valley campaign is proud to be a member of the Friends of the Memorial Gardens and we look forward to contributing to its ongoing projects.

“Visitors to the International Asbestos Memorial have praised the beautiful setting for such a poignant reminder of all those who have succumbed to asbestos disease in Rochdale and throughout the world.

“The Green Flag status is excellent news and is a well deserved recognition for all the hard work done by Rochdale Council Environmental Services staff.” 

The National prestigious Green Flag Awards for public parks were announced by the Parks Minister Baroness Andrews.