Green Flag status awarded to parks in Portsmouth, Havant, Fareham and Gosport

The Rock Garden, Baffins Pond and Milton Park in Portsmouth were named as Green Flag winners by the environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy in its annual awards announcement.

Holly Hill Woodland Park in Sarisbury Green has now received the Green Flag recognition for the 16th year in a row and the Sensory Garden in Fareham town centre can now boast a run of 14 successive years of receiving the honour.

Cllr Steve Pitt, Leader of Portsmouth City Council with responsibility for culture and leisure said: "It's wonderful that we have been recognised yet again for the beautiful parks we have here in Portsmouth for residents and visitors to enjoy. The awards are a testament not only to the hard work of our park employees who work tirelessly to provide clean spaces, but also the visitors who treat these beautiful parks with respect – thank you all."

Executive member for streetscene at Fareham Borough Council, cllr Ian Bastable, said: “We’re extremely proud of Fareham’s open spaces and receiving this international quality mark for parks and green spaces yet again is testament to the hard work and dedication of the team that care for them. It could not be achieved without the year-round commitment of council staff and volunteers, who work so hard to maintain these beautiful areas.”

in Gosport Stanley Park achieved the standard for the fourth time, and Crescent Gardens was awarded the accolade for the 17th time.

Cllr Peter Chegwyn, leader of the Council, said: "It's fantastic that these two parks have once again received Green Flag awards. This is the international quality mark for parks and green spaces, and the achievement is testament to the hard work and dedication of the volunteers and teams that care for them and enable residents to enjoy them. It's great recognition for everyone involved, including the Friends of Stanley Park, the Friends of Crescent Gardens, our grounds maintenance team and our cleansing contractor Urbaser."

And the county-run Queen Elizabeth Park near Petersfield and Staunton Country Park in Havant also won the awards. Staunton scooped Green Heritage Accreditation for the management of the site’s unique historic features as well.

Cllr Russell Oppenheimer, Hampshire County Council’s executive member for countryside and regulatory services, said: “This is great news and an accolade that we share with the amazing team of volunteers that support the activities of these wonderful parks. Each of the Country Parks offers residents a really great value day out in a beautiful green space. We’ve recently invested in all the sites so we can provide top notch facilities including cafés serving local produce, and a range of activities and attractions, as well as an opportunity to explore the amazing heritage and histories of each location.”

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 green spaces across the United Kingdom and around the world.

A full list of Green Flag Award-winning parks and green spaces is available at keepbritaintidy.org