Flying the flag for our green spaces

Jul 20 2009 by Laura Caroe, The Journal

PARKS in the North East are flying the flag for great green spaces. A total of 34 parks from Tyneside, Northumberland and County Durham have been awarded Green Flag Awards, the national standard for quality parks and green spaces.

Much-loved parks including Saltwell Park in Gateshead, Riverside Park in Chester-le-Street, Heaton Park in Newcastle and Hirst Park in Ashington, Northumberland, are among them.

Mowbray Park, in Sunderland, has won the award for the 10th time.

Winners in the award scheme, managed by the Civic Trust, are judged to be welcoming and well-maintained with the support and involvement of the community.

But it is not just those places we traditionally think of as parks which have scooped Green Flags.

Among the winners are Bill Quay Community Farm in Gateshead and new entrant Duncombe Cemetery in Ferryhill.

Set up in 1986, Bill Quay Farm transformed a reclaimed 40-acre site into a green retreat with panoramic views over the Tyne and now provides visitors with the opportunity to experience farm life.