Thank you to all our fantastic volunteers, the Friends of Upton Country Park and the Country Park team who put in lots of hard work to make Upton Country Park such a fantastic place to visit, and to our visitors who make this such a special place to work.
Both Upton Country Park and Poole Park are celebrating after receiving a coveted Green Flag Award, the quality mark for parks and green spaces. This comes as the internationally recognised standard for parks and green spaces celebrates its 30th year.
In addition, both parks have retained Green Heritage Site Accreditation, supported by Historic England, for the management and promotion of their historic features.
Across the BCP area, parks and green spaces play a vital role for people in providing safe, accessible places to relax, boost wellbeing, exercise, socialise and improve the quality of life. Achieving the Green Flag Award highlights the hard work and dedication of the teams that maintain the parks and green spaces to create enjoyable spaces for a diverse range of users to visit and to utilise in a variety of ways, while supporting local wildlife and habitat conservation.
Councillor Andy Hadley, Portfolio Holder with responsibility for parks and gardens, said: “It’s wonderful news that Upton Country Park and Poole Park have once again achieved the Green Flag Award.
“This would not have been possible without the commitment and hard work of our wonderful staff and volunteers who manage and maintain these important local green spaces and parks. We’re lucky to have hundreds of dedicated and hard-working volunteers who give up their time to get involved in many ways from gardening, greeting and supporting visitors to conservation work and carrying out wildlife surveys.
“BCP Council is very proud of its green spaces and natural environment. We are fortunate to live in an area that is rich in unique habitats and offers residents and visitors the opportunity to connect with nature and these spaces which is key to improving quality of life for all people. We are committed to protecting and enhancing all these areas for residents, visitors and wildlife now, and so they can be enjoyed by many generations to come.”
Upton Country Park has proudly held Green Flag status since 2005. Our reputation was enhanced further in 2016 when – in the year we celebrated the 200th anniversary of Upton House – the Country Park was awarded Green Heritage Site accreditation for the first time.
The Green Flag Award scheme, managed by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy under licence from the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, 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.
To achieve Green Heritage Site Accreditation, winners have to understand and take action to conserve the heritage value of their site. They also need to help people to understand and enjoy its unique history, from nationally important parks to local green spaces that help tell the story of places and communities.
