Photograph of the Green Flag Awards Flag
Winning parks fly the Green Flag Award flag! © Keep Britain Tidy
Winning parks fly the Green Flag Award flag! © Keep Britain Tidy

Green Flag Award Scheme for Parks and Green Spaces

The Green Flag Award® scheme is the national benchmark standard for parks and green spaces.

In 2024, a record 2,227 Green Flag Awards were awarded in the UK. In addition, 130 parks and green spaces received Green Heritage Site Accreditation, supported by Historic England.

Launched in 1996, the Green Flag Award scheme is managed by Keep Britain Tidy on behalf of the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government. Natural England has embedded Green Flag Award standards as one of the national benchmarks for green space quality in the Green Infrastructure Framework.

The objective of the Green Flag Award scheme is to encourage the provision of good quality public parks and green spaces that are managed in environmentally sustainable ways. The Green Flag Award helps to create public recognition of good quality green spaces and people's confidence in them. The Award aspires to raise expectations of what a public green space can offer.

Awards are given on an annual basis and winners must apply each year to renew their Green Flag status. Each site is judged on its own merits and suitability to the community it serves by volunteer judges. Each award-winning park is:

  • A welcoming place
  • Healthy, safe and secure
  • Well maintained and clean

The parks also have to meet award criteria on:

  • Sustainability
  • Conservation and heritage
  • Community involvement
  • Marketing
  • Management

Since its launch, the Green Flag Award® scheme has attracted international interest and is being used in a growing number of countries around the world including the Netherlands, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Republic of Ireland, Türkiye, Mexico, the United States of America and United Arab Emirates.

You can explore a map of Green Flag Award winning parks and Green Heritage Sites on the Green Flag Awards website.

Green Heritage Site Accreditation

Green Heritage Site Accreditation, supported by Historic England, is given in recognition of achieving the required standard in the management and interpretation of a site with local or national historic importance. To receive Green Heritage Site Accreditation, sites must also achieve Green Flag Award.

Applications are judged against a list of criteria. The judges look at the extent to which applicants understand, acknowledge and share the heritage value of their site and how they conserve and enhance the site and also help people enjoy its heritage value.

To apply, sites do not have to be on the Historic England Register of Historic Parks and Gardens but must be at least 30 years old.

The list includes public parks and gardens, country parks, cemeteries, greens, commons and woods. Some are registered, while others are important Conservation Area features or settings for historic buildings. All are historic sites. Congratulations to the winners!

Historic postcards of 12 of the Green Heritage Accreditation parks

Please click on the gallery images to enlarge.

Hand-painted black and white photograph of a pond and parkland beyond, with a legend reading "Brockwell Park, The Bathing Pond". Hand-painted black and white photograph of an avenue of trees with a legend reading "Castle Park, Colchester". Hand-painted black and white photograph of a tree-lined pond with a legend reading "Clifton Park, The Lake, Rotherham" Hand-painted black and white photograph of ornamental gardens on a hillside with a legend reading "The Cliff Gardens, Felixtowe". Hand-painted black and white photograph of a monument topped with a roaring lion, with a bandstand beyond. A legend reads "Forbury Gardens, Reading" Hand-painted black and white photograph of ornamental gardens with a legend reading "Leamington Spa, Jephson Gardens" Hand-painted black and white photograph of a woman feeding swans in a lake with a bridge beyond. A legend reads "E. Bridge, Pittville Park, Cheltenham" Hand-painted black and white photograph of a statue and building in parkland with the legend "Lucas Memorial, Saltwell Park, Gateshead". Hand-painted black and white photograph of ornamental gardens surrounding a pond. A legend reads "In St Leonards Gardens". Hand-painted black and white photograph of a greenhouse surrounded by ornamental gardens, with the legend "Stanley Park, Liverpool" Black and white photograph of a dingy marked "Waveney, YH." motoring along a snaking canal through gardens. A legend reads "Venetian Waterways, Gt. Yarmouth" Hand-painted black and white photograph A gazebo stands in ornamental gardens. A legend reads "Wellington Park, Wellington".

Also of interest

Suffolk's Unforgettable Garden Story
Celebrating 40 Years of England's Register of Parks and Gardens