Bury St Edmunds Parks awarded Green Flag Status!

Next Friday (26 July) sees the start of Love Parks Week – a campaign by Keep Britain Tidy to encourage people to get out and enjoy the parks in their area.

Ahead of that, all six of the council’s parks – Aspal Close Nature Reserve in Beck Row, Brandon Country Park, East Town Park in Haverhill, Nowton Park and The Abbey Gardens in Bury St Edmunds and West Stow Country Park - have today (16 July) been awarded Green Flag status.

It’s the fifth year in a row that all six parks have achieved the status, a recognised national quality mark for parks and green spaces.

Parks and open spaces play a role in West Suffolk Council’s delivery of its strategic priorities for thriving communities, environmental resilience and sustainable growth.

Cllr Ian Shipp, Cabinet Member for Leisure, said: “We are delighted to have achieved Green Flag status. As part of our strategic priority for Thriving Communities, it’s important that people can access our parks and green spaces to support their physical and mental health.

“We are continuing to invest in our parks to ensure they are green, clean and attractive places where people can enjoy nature, where they can meet for a picnic or a walk, go for a run and where children can play.

“Our parks and green spaces form part of strategic priority for environmental resilience supporting a range of biodiversity including bees, butterflies and other pollinators and wildlife.

“They also support the sustainable growth of our economy. Only last week it was reported that one of our parks – the Abbey Gardens in Bury St Edmunds – was the most visited free attraction in the East of England in 2023 according to VisitEngland with a reported 1,345,058 visits. It illustrates the role that our parks can play as part of our wonderful mix of leisure, culture and heritage, boosting tourism to the benefit of the local economy as well as attracting new businesses to West Suffolk.

“I am delighted that we have continued to demonstrate the award-winning appeal of our parks. It’s a testament to the hard work of our staff and volunteers and my thanks goes to each and every one of them.”

The Green Flag Award scheme, managed by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy under licence from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and 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.