Parks and green spaces in Tower Hamlets have had a very successful year in both the Green Flag and London in Bloom awards.
The Green Flag Awards scheme, managed by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities, recognises and rewards well-managed parks and green spaces, setting the benchmark standard for the management of recreational outdoor spaces across the United Kingdom and around the world. The scheme celebrates 25 years as the international quality mark for parks in 2021.
All twelve Council parks with Green Flags retained their awards for another year. These are Altab Ali Park, Island Gardens, Meath Gardens, Mile End Park, Millwall Park, Poplar Recreation Ground, Sir John McDougall Gardens, St George’s Gardens, Stepney Green Park, Trinity Square Gardens, Victoria Park and Weavers Fields. Victoria Park also achieved the much coveted Green Heritage Site Accreditation, supported by Historic England, for the management of its historic features. Mudchute Park and Farm, the Regent’s Canal between Limehouse Basin and Mile End Road, Stepney City Farm and Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park all retained their Green Flag Community Awards.
In the London in Bloom awards, sites and organisations in Tower Hamlets won a record ten Gold awards, including an overall Gold for the borough in the City category and three Category Winners. Canary Wharf won the Town or City Centre category, and picked up a second Gold award in the Business Landscape section. Providence Row won the Our Community category, along with an Outstanding award in “It’s Your Neighbourhood” and a Royal Horticultural Society National Certificate of Distinction. The third category winner was the Tower of London in Heritage Park or Garden of the Year.
Victoria Park and Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park also achieved Gold awards in the latter category. Victoria Park added another Gold in Large Park of the Year, while Cemetery Park completed a hat trick of Golds with further awards in the Large Cemetery and Large Conservation Area categories.
There were also three awards for Lady Micos Gardeners, with Golds in Walled Garden and Our Community, and Outstanding in “It’s Your Neighbourhood”. Other community gardens winning awards were Rocky Park Urban Growers, who won the discretionary Allotment Site Award, and Cranbrook Community Food Garden with Silver Gilt in the Growing Your Community Special Award.
Header photo: the Old English Garden in Victoria Park (John Archer)
