Victoria Park has been crowned the reigning Queen of all parks in the country for the second year running! The park received a huge amount of votes to win the People’s Choice Award, organised by Keep Britain Tidy’s Green Flag Plus Partnership.
Green Flag Award manager, Paul Todd said, “The huge number of public votes we received show just how important parks and green spaces are to people. Victoria Park in Tower Hamlets is a truly worthy winner of the 2015 People’s Choice awards. Congratulations to all of the staff and volunteers who go the extra mile to maintain the park’s high standards and make it such a wonderful place for people to visit.”
Mayor of Tower Hamlets, John Biggs, said: “What an achievement! With Victoria Park winning the People’s Choice Award for the second year in a row, the park has truly been cemented as one of the most loved places in the whole country. We’re so proud of this incredible park. Our staff lovingly look after it and make it such a stunning part of the borough, and this award really should be seen as a huge round of applause to them. I encourage everyone to go down and enjoy the people’s park!”
‘The People’s Park’
Last year, more than 9 million people in total visited Victoria Park – its highest figures in the past five years. The park continues to grow in popularity after its refurbishment. This saw the restoration of historic monuments, new play equipment, the creation of a new community facility and café, the reintroduction of the Chinese pagoda, improved planting and wildlife habitats, a new skate park, and better sports facilities.
Celebrating the achievement
On Thursday, October 29, Mayor Biggs and members of Tower Hamlets’ cabinet will be celebrating Victoria Park’s huge achievement at the official presentation held in The Hub Building where members of the community can join in with a small family fun day organised by park staff to mark this fantastic achievement.
To celebrate this achievement, Tower Hamlets Council is urging people to tell them their happiest memories of Victoria Park. Did you meet the love of your life in Victoria Park? Perhaps you saw an amazing band at one of the many festivals there? Did you learn a new hobby in the park? Did you have a special encounter with the park’s wildlife? Or did you just see a gorgeous sunset once and got a brilliant picture of it? Whatever it is, small or big, Tower Hamlets Council wants to know. Send it in on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram using #welovevickyp
Other awards
Victoria Park retaining the People’s Choice Award crowns a triumphant year for the borough’s parks and green spaces, which have already enjoyed fantastic success in both the Green Flag and London in Bloom Awards. Ten Tower Hamlets parks won Green Flags this year, while Mudchute and Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park both won Green Flag Community Awards. See the full London results here.
In the London in Bloom Awards, the Borough’s parks won an overall Gold award, while Canary Wharf and Lady Mico’s Almshouses were Category Winners and won Gold awards in the Small Town Centre and Community Garden categories respectively. Victoria Park won Gold in the Large Park category, with Poplar Rec and Museum Gardens both winning Silver as Small Parks. Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park carried off a brace of silver-gilt awards in the Large Cemetery and Large Conservation categories, and the Tower of London won a silver-gilt in the Heritage Park and Garden category. The full London in Bloom results can be seen here.
