Green Flag

Green Flag Parks 2011

Eight parks managed by Enfield Council have been formally recognised as being among some of the best in the country.

All of Enfield Council's seven previous Green Flag Parks successfully regained the award with Bush Hill Park also being accredited this year following considerable capital investment and a lot of hard work by the Parks staff and the Friends of Parks groups.  The Enfield parks that have achieved Green Flag status are: 

• Bush Hill Park (first year winner) 
• Trent Country Park (second year winner)
• Jubilee Park (fourth year winner)
• Oakwood Park (fourth year winner)
• Town Park (fourth year winner)
• Forty Hall Park (fifth year winner)
• Grovelands Park (fifth year winner)
• Pymmes Park (sixth year winner)

What is the Green Flag Award Scheme?

The Green Flag Awards Scheme is run by Keep Britain Tidy (who took over from the Civic Trust in 2009) and is widely accepted as a measure of quality in the management, operation and improvement of green spaces.  The Green Flag Award Scheme is the national standard for parks and green spaces in England and Wales and was launched in 1996 as a means to recognise and reward the best green spaces in the country. It was also seen as a way of encouraging others to achieve the same high environmental standards, creating a benchmark of excellence in recreational green areas. For 2009/2010, a record number of awards were made with over 1000 parks and green spaces currently flying a Green Flag or Green Pennant. .

Keep Britain Tidy is an environmental charity and is the anti-litter campaign for England .  Keep Britain Tidy also runs programmes such as Eco-Schools, Blue Flag and Quality Coast Awards for beaches and manages the Green Flag Award scheme. Their aim is to create cleaner, greener places for everyone by inspiring policy and practical action and the Green Flag Award scheme is a key part of that objective.  For more information on Keep Britain Tidy, please visit Keep Britain Tidy.

Listed below are the eight criteria used by Green Flag Award judges to assess green spaces.  

• Welcoming and inviting - how to create a sense that people are positively welcomed in the green space.
• Healthy, safe and secure - how best to ensure that the green space is a safe and healthy environment for all users.
• Clean and well maintained - what people can expect in terms of cleanliness, facilities and maintenance.
• Environmentally sound - how a green space can be managed in environmentally sensitive ways.
• Sensitively conserved - the value of conservation and care of historical heritage.
• Inclusive of the whole community - ways of encouraging community involvement and acknowledging the community's role in a green space's success.
• Well marketed and promoted - methods of promoting a green space successfully.
• Coherently planned - how to reflect all of the above in a coherent and accessible management plan or strategy and ensure it is implemented.