Derry's Brooke Park recognised once again with Green Flag Award

The environmental charity awarded the international mark of quality for 2023/24 to 98 parks and open spaces – up from 93 last year – that demonstrated world-class standards in cleanliness, safety, accessibility, environmental management and community involvement.

Eight local councils received their Green Flags at a presentation event at Killeavy Castle in Newry on Monday, July 24, with 20 awards apiece for Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council and Belfast City Council, and six winning sites for Newry, Mourne and Down District Council.

Brooke Park retained its Green Flag and was the solo winner in the Derry and Strabane District Council area.

There were also solo wins for Queen’s University Belfast and the Department of Finance-managed Stormont, who retained their flag-bearing status for another year.

In a further sign of progress, the Green Flag Community Award category surged to an all-time best of 22 sites. Radius Housing took home four awards for folds across the country, while first-time wins went to Downpatrick Community Allotment, Lislea Community Association, and Tidy Randalstown.

Dr Stephen McGirr, Keep NI Beautiful’s Local Environmental Quality Manager said: “We are thrilled to have another record-breaking year of Green Flag Award winners for our best parks and open spaces. The 98 winning locations not only represent excellent-standard green spaces that are good news for wider society, but they highlight an ever-growing concern and connection with our natural world that is a victory for our planet.”

“In difficult economic times, we take great encouragement from the fact that high-quality environmental management remains high on the agenda for local authorities and communities, and that is exactly how it should be.”

The record-breaking trend in Green Flags was observed across the UK, with 2,216 green spaces receiving awards in a peak year for the award scheme that was launched in 1996.

Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful is the national operator for the Green Flag Award, which is managed by Keep Britain Tidy under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

To view the full list of Green Flag Award winners for Northern Ireland, visit www.keepnorthernirelandbeautiful.org/greenflagaward.