The decision to grant Middleton Park with an esteemed award has been welcomed by local Councillors.
Councillors Judith Blake, Paul Truswell and Kim Groves (Labour, Middleton Park) are delighted that Middleton Park is among a record-breaking 1,476 parks and green spaces to receive a prestigious Green Flag Award by environmental charity ‘Keep Britain Tidy’.
[private]The award recognises the best parks and green spaces across the country. A Green Flag flying at Middleton Park is a sign to the public that the space boasts the highest possible standards, is well maintained and has excellent facilities.
The Park, known as the Green Jewel of South Leeds, has undergone a great number of improvements over the last few years. It received a £2.2million investment from the Parks for People Project supported by the National Lottery, which helped to fund, amongst other things, a new state-of-the-art visitor centre, café, public toilets, bandstand, signage and information boards, and improved entrances, pathways and heritage trails. Additional support was provided by Leeds City Council, the Sir George Martin Trust and Wade’s Charity.
The Friends of Middleton Park have also been instrumental in securing this important award. Their extensive summer events programme, including outdoor theatre, bands in the park and wildlife and history walks, has made Middleton Park a top attraction for the whole city.
In 2013 alone there were 8,300 visitors to the new café and around 125 people have volunteered at the park in order to keep facilities open all year round, which demonstrates why Middleton Park is a deserved winner of this nationally recognised award.
Councillors Judith Blake, Paul Truswell and Kim Groves said:
“This prestigious national award is a massive tribute to the brilliant partnership that has secured major improvements to the Park. It recognises the close cooperation between everyone who has worked so hard to make this happen and we are immensely proud to have played our part as local Councillors. Local people already know Middleton Park is one of the very best – but thanks to Keep Britain Tidy it’s now official!”
Alan Shaw (Chair of the Friends of Middleton Park) said:
“Thanks to Keep Britain Tidy for this award, this quite rightly recognises that Middleton Park is special. This acknowledges not only the hard work of Leeds City Council staff and Adult Social Care customers, but also the effort put in by all the charity volunteers that support our events.
Paul Todd (Keep Britain Tidy’s Green Flag Award scheme manager) said:
“Our Green Flag Award provides national recognition for all the parks managers, staff and volunteers who, through their dedication and hard work, have helped to create these fantastic places for everyone to enjoy. Quality green spaces are a vital resource for communities and that is why it is so significant that we have given out more awards than ever before.”[/private]
