Ards and North Down Gains Seven Green Flag Awards

Seven locations in Ards and North Down have achieved a Green Flag Award, including Cairn Wood and Clandeboye Cemetery that have received the prestigious accolade for the first time.

The Green Flag Award is an internationally recognised certification for environmental quality management for parks and open spaces. While Cairn Wood and Clandeboye Cemetery have claimed their first Green Flag, other winning areas include Kiltonga Nature Reserve (Newtownards), Castle Park (Bangor), Ballymenoch Park (Holywood), Londonderry Park (Newtownards) and Linear Park (Bangor).

The Mayor of Ards and North Down, Councillor Alistair Cathcart, said:

"Winning seven Green Flag awards is the most that Ards and North Down has ever received. This is a fantastic achievement and is credit to the Council staff who work so hard in maintaining the high standards of our parks and open spaces, as well as many green-fingered volunteers throughout the Borough."

Parks and open spaces wishing to achieve Green Flag status must have a site management plan in place and be able to demonstrate that they comply with a range of strict criteria including horticultural standards, cleanliness, environmental management, biodiversity, community involvement and safety standards.

The awards are judged annually by a panel of experts, who volunteer their time to assess the management plans and the applicant sites through a rigorous judging process.

Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful, the environmental charity that runs the scheme in Northern Ireland, revealed that 105 Green Flag awards were presented this year.