Shropshire country parks recognised among the country’s finest with Green Flag Awards

Today, Shropshire Council is celebrating after receiving a Green Flag Award for both Severn Valley Country Park and The Mere.

A Community Green Flag has also been awarded to the Friends of Stanmore Country Park.

Today’s announcement (Tuesday 18 July 2023) sees Severn Valley Country Park near Alveley maintain a 20-year run of success, and The Mere in Ellesmere its tenth successive Green Flag Award.

Severn Valley Country Park

The award is the international quality mark for parks and green spaces, and is awarded in testament to the hard work and dedication of the team that care for the green space so that everyone can enjoy it.

The Mere, Ellesmere

Robert Macey, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for culture and digital, said:-

“Sometimes it is all too easy to take for granted our beautiful Shropshire countryside, but awards such as this serve as a great reminder of the hard work and effort that goes into maintaining our country parks.

“The staff and volunteers across all three sites should be immensely proud of themselves, as we are. Shropshire Council is delighted to include award-winning country parks in its portfolio.

“As the summer holidays begin it is worth considering exploring our parks as a fun, free and healthy day out.”

Paul Todd MBE, Keep Britain Tidy’s Green Flag Award Scheme Manager, said:-

“I would like to congratulate everyone involved at the Shropshire country parks in achieving a Green Flag Award.

“They are a vital green space for the community, bringing people together and providing opportunities to lead healthy lifestyles. The staff and volunteers do so much to ensure that they maintain the high standards of the Green Flag Award and everyone involved should feel extremely proud of their achievement.”

Stanmore Country Park

The Green Flag Award scheme, managed by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, recognises and rewards well-managed parks and green spaces, setting the benchmark standard for the management of green spaces across the UK and around the world.

A full list of Green Flag Award-winning parks and green spaces is available here.

Further information

The Green Flag Award Scheme (http://greenflagaward.org/) is run by the environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, in partnership with Keep Scotland Beautiful, Keep Wales Tidy and Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful.

Keep Britain Tidy is a leading environmental charity. We set the standard for the management of parks and beaches, inspire people to be litter-free, to waste less and live more sustainably. We run campaigns and programmes including the Great British Spring Clean, Eco-Schools, Love Parks, Eco-Schools, the Green Flag Award for parks and green spaces and the Blue Flag/ Seaside Awards for beaches. To find out more about Keep Britain Tidy, our campaigns and programmes visit www.keepbritaintidy.org.

Any green space that is freely accessible to the public is eligible to enter for a Green Flag Award.  Awards are given on an annual basis and winners must apply each year to renew their Green Flag Award status.  A Green Flag Community Award recognises quality sites managed by voluntary and community groups. Green Heritage Site Accreditation is judged on the treatment of the site’s historic features and the standard of conservation.

About Historic England

We are Historic England: the public body that helps people care for, enjoy and celebrate England’s spectacular historic environment, from beaches and battlefields to parks and pie shops. We protect, champion and save the places that define who we are and where we’ve come from as a nation. We care passionately about the stories they tell, the ideas they represent and the people who live, work and play among them. Working with communities and specialists we share our passion, knowledge and skills to inspire interest, care and conservation, so everyone can keep enjoying and looking after the history that surrounds us all.