Kettering community allotment awarded the prestigious Green Flag award

A community allotment in Northamptonshire has been awarded the coveted Green Flag award – a mark of national excellence.

Green Patch, a Kettering green space set up and manged by Groundwork Northamptonshire, has this month been listed in the prestigious Keep Britain Tidy 2021 Green Flag Award list – one of around 2,000 parks and green spaces across the UK to be recognised with this international quality award.

Manger of Green Patch, Grey Lindley, said: “The last 18 months have seen green spaces become lockdown lifelines, playing a vital role for people across Northamptonshire and indeed the country as places to breathe, relax, exercise and meet friends and family safely.

“The news that The Green Patch has achieved the Green Flag Award standard is testament to the hard work and dedication of those tasked with looking after this Northamptonshire asset.“

Research carried out by YouGov for Keep Britain Tidy over the summer shows just how important parks are to the British public.

It revealed that having access to a quality park or green space helped improve people’s mental health with almost six in ten (59%) saying they felt less stressed when using the park and 55% saying they felt more positive in general. That’s why it’s important that parks are managed to the Green Flag Award standard

The survey also showed that more than half of people (53%) visit a park or green space at least once a week and more than nine in ten (93%) think that parks and green spaces are important to their local community.

Commenting on the announcement of this year’s winners, Keep Britain Tidy Chief Executive Allison Ogden-Newton OBE said: “As Green Flag Award celebrates 25 years of raising the standard, Keep Britain Tidy is delighted to be the custodian of a scheme that does so much to ensure our parks and green spaces go from strength to strength.

“At a time when parks have been at the heart of every community across the country it is perhaps not surprising that 95% of the public thinks that their local parks and green spaces need to be protected.

“This is why the Green Flag Award is so important. It ensures that parks and green spaces are managed to the highest standards and are safe and accessible for everyone to enjoy and we look forward to the next 25 years.

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 recreational outdoor spaces across the United Kingdom and around the world.