‘We promised to win even more Green Flags’: 11 parks now hold prestigious award

· by · in Awards, Civic Pride, Environment, Parks and green spaces. ·
Councillor Eleanor Stringer, Deputy Leader of Merton Council and Cabinet Member for for Civic Pride and Climate Change, together with Merton's Parks and Green Spaces team at the Green Flag Awards
Councillor Eleanor Stringer, Deputy Leader of Merton Council and Cabinet Member for for Civic Pride and Climate Change, together with Merton’s Parks and Green Spaces team at the Green Flag Awards

Merton has this week gained another Green Flag – the internationally recognised sign of excellence for parks – with Brenley Park becoming the eleventh park to hold the accolade in Merton.

The new Green Flag for the Mitcham park means Merton has almost doubled the number of Green Flag parks since 2024, taking the borough to is highest ever total.

This is the result of funding the council has invested and sourced, as well as the close work its done with the borough’s fantastic, volunteer-led ‘Friends of’ groups to improve our parks.

Councillor Ross Garrod, Leader of Merton Council, said: “We promised to work with the community to win even more Green Flags for our borough’s much-loved parks, and we have done just that.

“Whilst other councils have had to cut back on their parks service, we’re able to invest in ours because we’ve managed out finances well, and the results speak for themselves.

“The work doesn’t stop here, we’re ambitious for our green spaces and are already well along the way to increasing our number of Green Flags even further over the next few years – making Merton cleaner, greener and safer.”

Green Flags recognise well-managed, welcoming, and sustainable outdoor spaces that meet the needs of the local community. The awards are only given after a strict judging process which awards marks for how welcoming, well maintained, safe and biodiverse parks are, as well as how involved the local community are in the running of the park.

This year, the 30th anniversary Green Flag awards were hosted in Merton, with the ceremony taking place at AFC Wimbledon.

Alongside Brenley Park, the borough’s existing ten Green Flag parks all kept their status as some of the best green spaces in the country. They are:

The council is continuing to improve parks all around the borough, and aims to pick up even more Green Flags over the next few years. It’s also working towards the borough’s first ever Green Heritage Awards in Cannizaro Park and Canons House and Grounds, which recognise historically significant green spaces.