Fowlers Park has achieved the prestigious Green Flag Award for the first time. The award is the international quality mark for parks and green spaces.
The park has received the accolade alongside West Park, East Park and Bantock Park, which have retained their Green Flag Awards for the sixth year in a row, Pendeford Mill Nature Reserve kept its flag for a fifth year and Phoenix Park, has achieved the status for the past 3 years.
The 6 award winning beauty spots are among a record breaking 2,216 UK parks and green spaces that have this year received a prestigious Green Flag Award.
Over the past 2 years, Fowlers Park, in Nine Elms Lane, has seen a range of improvements. These have included tree planting to improve the variety of species and encourage a diversity of wildlife. Wildflower meadows have been created, along with improvements to the park lake, signage and disability access.
The wide variety of improvements works were part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and helped Fowlers Park to achieve its Green Flag status.
Councillor Craig Collingswood, City of Wolverhampton Council’s cabinet member for environment and climate change, said: “We are absolutely delighted that our beautiful Fowlers Park has been recognised for this prestigious award.
“In addition, 5 other of our much loved parks and green spaces continue to be recognised by the Green Flag Award scheme. I would like to thank officers, volunteers and Friends groups for the hard work they put into looking after these award winning beauty spots.
“We are very proud of all our parks in Wolverhampton, they are wonderful spaces for our residents and attract many visitors to the city. We will soon see the amazing transformation to the play area in East Park and during the winter we will be hosting our first festive light trail in West Park.
“There are many benefits to enjoying green spaces and I would encourage everyone to come and visit our parks and reserves to enjoy their beauty all year round.”
Keep Britain Tidy’s Green Flag Award Scheme Manager Paul Todd MBE said: “I would like to congratulate everyone involved with Wolverhampton’s parks in achieving Green Flag Awards.
“Fowlers Park, and the other city sites, are vital green spaces for the community, bringing people together and providing opportunities to lead healthy lifestyles. The staff and volunteers do so much to ensure that they maintain the high standards of the Green Flag Award and everyone involved should feel extremely proud of their achievement.”
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.
West Park is around 45 acres, includes a beautiful lake and a stunning landscaped green space within a 10-minute walk of Wolverhampton city centre. The park is considered to be one of the best, unspoilt examples of a Victorian park left in England and is Wolverhampton's premier open space.
East Park, situated off Hickman Avenue is also around 45 acres in size and is popular with local residents due to children’s play areas, the cycle speedway track, play area, multi games courts, and football pitches.
Bantock Park is around 40 acres, comprised mostly of open space, which still retains its 'rural' character, with a variety of trees, including an edible hedgerow planted by the Friends of Bantock House Museum and Park, known as the Bantock Users Group (BUG), a nature trail and is home of the iconic Bantock House. Bantock Park also has a play area, football pitches, a pitch and putt course and visitors’ café.
Pendeford Mill Nature Reserve is a site of valuable environmental and historical significance. The site covers almost 60 acres of naturally managed countryside and dates back to the 13th century. It provides a stable and protected habitat for wildlife on the fringe of an urban area.
Phoenix Park offers visitors outdoor fitness equipment, walking paths and wildlife interpretation panels, a sensory garden, wildflower meadow, a children’s play area, seated amphitheatre and woodland area. There is also a lavender maze, 2 ball courts, shelters and a woodland area.
