Green Flag Award
Green Flag Award | |
---|---|
MHCLG. | |
Effective region | Worldwide; primarily United Kingdom. |
Effective since | 1996 |
Product category | Parks, publicly accessible spaces. |
Type of standard | Industry |
Website | www |
The Green Flag Award is an international accreditation given to publicly accessible parks and open spaces, managed under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, a UK Government department, by Keep Britain Tidy, who also administers the scheme in England.
History
The Green Flag Award was introduced in 1996, and first awarded in 1997, by the
The scheme has been managed by Keep Britain Tidy since 2012,
Purpose and description
Green Flags on Display in Manor Park, London; Boscombe Chine Gardens, Dorset; Baysgarth Park, Lincolnshire; and Bournemouth Gardens, Dorset. |
The scheme's aim is to promote standards of good management and best-practice amongst the green space sector. It is described by its issuers, Keep Britain Tidy, as an "internationally recognised award that is a benchmark for well-managed green space". As of October 2021, 2227 parks and open spaces held a Green Flag Award.[3]
While
Governance
The Green Flag Award is managed under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, a UK Government department, by Keep Britain Tidy, who also administers the scheme in England[5] and several other countries, including Australia and the United States.[6]
Accreditation
The owners of spaces that wish to hold the accreditation, pay a fee to be assessed by volunteer judges on an annual basis with a process involving
- A Welcoming Place
- Healthy, Safe and Secure
- Well Maintained and Clean
- Environmental Management
- Biodiversity, Landscape and Heritage
- Community Involvement
- Marketing and Communication
- Management
A failure to meet the judges' standards can result in the accreditation being withdrawn; one example of this is North London's Finsbury Park which lost its Green Flag in 2018.[8]
See also
- Blue Flag Award(for beaches)
- List of environmental awards
References
- ^ Magda Ibrahim (2009). "Civic Trust says loss of Green Flag contributed to collapse". Horticulture Week.
- ^ Jez Abbott (2012). "Green Flag Awards entry fees set to rise". Horticulture Week.
- ^ "Raising the standard of parks and green spaces". Green Flag Award. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
- ^ Joanna Whitehead (2018). "The UK's Best Green Spaces, From University Campuses to Crematoriums". The Independent.
- ^ "Who runs Green Flag Award?". Green Flag Award. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
- ^ "Network". Green Flag Award. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
- ^ Green Flag Award (2016). Raising The Standard: The Green Flag Award Guidance Manual (PDF).
- ^ Simon Allin (2018). "Finsbury Park stripped of Green Flag award after damning report". Islington Gazette.