Erewash Borough Council has retained its Green Flag awards at three popular leisure sites in the borough, it has been confirmed today. (Thursday 21 July)
The good news means Long Eaton’s flagship West Park and Straw’s Bridge Local Nature Reserve at West Hallam have secured the prestigious award for the second time while Victoria Park at Ilkeston celebrates the honour for a sixth successive year.
The Green Flag award is the benchmark national standard for England and Wales and is presented to high quality parks, green spaces and nature reserves that have excellent facilities and are well-maintained and well-managed.
Councillor Mike Wallis, Erewash Borough Council’s Lead Member for Culture and Leisure, says:
“This is a tremendous achievement and we will proudly fly the Green Flags at the three sites, which are now rightly confirmed as among the best in the country.
“The success is a testament to the hard work of our dedicated team who work year-round to manage these sites and we also send out a very big thank you to the volunteers and the Friends Group members of the three sites who enthusiastically help us to maintain and further develop the popular sites. They play such a big part in making them such beautiful places for all to visit and enjoy.”
West Park is the largest in Erewash at 127 acres and dates back to the early 1900s. It is enjoyed by thousands of visitors every year and has seen substantial investment over the last few years. It offers an extensive range of sports and recreational facilities including an outdoor gym trail, a skatepark, a splashpad water park, bowls, tennis and football and cricket.
Straws Bridge was awarded Local Nature Reserve status by the council last year and features three ponds that are surrounded by woodland, scrub, meadow and wetland – while it is also connected to the Nutbrook Trail. It attracts many types of birds but is particularly famous for its swans, leading to its affectionate nickname ‘Swan Lake’.
Victoria Park dates by to 1896 and is currently being further developed to restore key Victorian features after the council secured a £740,000 Heritage Lottery Fund grant.
