Prestigious Green Flag Awards for Havering parks

Havering Council is delighted to announce that Bedfords Park and Upminster Park have scooped Green Flag Awards this year.

Havering Council is delighted to announce that Bedfords Park and Upminster Park have scooped Green Flag Awards this year. These are Havering's first two successes in the Green Flag scheme that has been running for 11 years. The winning Parks are judged to be welcoming, safe and well maintained and maintain strong links with the local community.

The best parks and green spaces in England and Wales were named by Baroness Kay Andrews, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State.

Councillor Michael White, Leader of Havering Council, said:

"I'd like to congratulate our Parks Service and their community partners on these prestigious awards. The fact that Bedfords and Upminster parks will soon be flying Green Flags demonstrates our commitment to an ongoing improvement programme for all of our parks and open spaces. This is further demonstrated by a recent increase of 9% in public satisfaction regarding these valuable assets."

Councillor Paul Rochford, Cabinet Member for Environment and Technical Services said:

"This is marvellous news. I offer my congratulations to everyone involved in the hard work to gain these prestigious awards. I know that the Parks Service could not have achieved this on its own. The Friends of Bedfords Park, the Friends of Upminster Park, the Essex Wildlife Trust who manage the Visitor Centre at Bedfords Park, and the hard working grounds maintenance teams who maintain all of our parks and open spaces deserve great credit.

Needless to say we intend to continue to invest in these assets and work with all of our partners to achieve more of these awards and to continue our improvement programme."

30/07/2007 PR 3044