Solihull Green Flag Parks Success

Solihull has added an additional park to its number prestigious Green Flag Awards for its parks, cemeteries and green spaces. Hope Coppice was adjudged to have met the standard this year and we now have 17 Green Flag Parks. 

The award sets the benchmark standard for the management of recreational outdoor spaces across the United Kingdom and around the world, being an international quality mark for parks and green spaces.

I attended the presentation of the Green Flags to the Midlands and East of England regions recently and am proud to say Solihull has the most Green Flags awarded than any other local authority in the wide region.

Photograph above shows myself, Clle Ian Courts and the Friends of Hope Coppice.

Our parks and green spaces play an important role in providing places for our residents and visitors to relax, exercise and enjoy the natural environment. Through projects like Wildlife Ways we have given our open spaces a boost with tree and wildflower planting along with river and stream improvements, supporting local wildlife, improving air quality and making our parks even more beautiful.

Above photographs shows myself and fellow ward Cllr Keith Green with some of our fantastic Friends of Hillfiled LNR group and local litter pickers.

As Cabinet Member for Environment and Infrastructure I am delighted that we have 17 Green Flag Awards in Solihull and would like to congratulate both the council staff and our army of local volunteers who have worked so hard to make this possible. The volunteers we have in the borough are amazing.

The 17 Green Flag sites in Solihull are:

• Babb’s Mill Recreation Ground & Local Nature Reserve
• Bentley Heath Recreation Ground
• Damson Lane Park
• Dorridge Park & Wood
• Elmdon Park
• Hillfield Park & Local Nature Reserve
• Hope Coppice – new for this year
• Knowle Park
• Lavender Hall Park
• Malvern and Brueton Park
• Meriden Park
• Olton Jubilee Park
• Palmers Rough Recreation Ground
• Robin Hood Cemetery
• Shirley Park
• Tudor Grange Park
• Woodlands Cemetery

The Green Flag Award scheme is managed by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy under licence from the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, recognises and rewards well-managed parks and green spaces, setting the benchmark standard for the management of green spaces across the United Kingdom and around the world.

You can find more about Green Flag via www.greenflagaward.org .