WestPark Management Plan & Green Flag Award

link from to logo to Green Flag Award website

Green Flag Award Logo

 
 

2025 Green Flag Award winners

Westpark in Darlington, 1 of 2,250 parks and green spaces across the UK has reached the high standards required to receive a coveted Green Flag Award in 2025. 

Environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy today revealed the winners, with successful submissions from across the country for a range of sites including world-famous city parks and small, local green spaces.

The other Green Flag awarded in Darlington is South Park. 

The Green Flag Award is the benchmark international quality classification for parks and green spaces, providing the high standards against which sites are measured, and which land managers, local authorities and volunteers pledge to achieve when applying for the award.

Parks are a vitally important part of this country’s green infrastructure, providing opportunities to improve physical and mental health even in the most built-up urban environments.

That’s why it’s important that parks are managed to the Green Flag Award standard, which accredits and recognises sites that meet the needs of the community, are well-maintained, safe and provide people with the opportunity to lead healthy lifestyles.

 That’s why it’s important that parks are managed to the Green Flag Award standard, which accredits and recognises sites that meet the needs of the community, are well-maintained, safe and provide people with the opportunity to lead healthy lifestyles.

You can read this years Judges feedback here. We will discuss this and feedback from our ecology survey at our 4th September 2025 community meeting.

It all started when…

We were searching for frameworks and quality marks for great green spaces where we could show the benefit of West Park Levy funding to the community and stakeholders. We needed a document to help identify the different but complimentary roles both Darlington Borough Council, Westpark Levy Trust and the wider community play in making Westpark a great place for both resident and nature.

Both the Trust and the Council are really pleased that WestPark and South Park both hold and have maintained Green Flag Award status. Both bodies are committed to maintaining and improving the standard of WestPark.

The Trust continues to increase the transparency of it’s decision making and showing the differing roles and responsibillities of WestPark Levy Trust and Darlington Borough Council.

The Trustees are committed to listen to community feedback and encourages community involvement through the Friends of WestPark meeting and events and expand the information available to further the improvement of WestPark.

Here you are able to find the current green space management plan and a link to

Raising the Standard : The Green Flag Award guidance manual

The sections are

A welcoming Place

Welcome

Good and Safe Access

Signage

Equal Access for All

Healthy, Safe and Secure

Appropriate Provision of Quality Facilities and Activities

Safe Equipment and Facilities

Personal Security

Control of Dogs/Dog Fouling

Well Maintained and Clean

Litter and Waste Management

Horticultural Maintenance

Arboricultural Maintenance

Building and Infrastructure Maintenance

Equipment Maintenance

Environmental Management

Managing Environmental Impact

Waste Minimisation

Chemical Use

Peat Use

Climate Change Adaption Strategies

Biodiversity, Landscape and Heritage

Management of Natural Features, Wild Fauna and Flora

Conservation of Landscape Features

Conservation of Buildings and Structures

Community Involvement

Community Involvement in Management and Development

Appropriate Provision for Community

Marketing and Communication

Marketing and Promotion

Appropriate Information Channels

Appropriate Educational and Interpretational Information

Management

Implementation of Management Plan

 

Green Flag Award - a crucial component in ensuring the continuing quality of our parks and green spaces, making sure they are managed to the highest standards and are safe and accessible. We believe it should be a minimum standard for every park – and that everyone, wherever they live, should have access to high-quality green space.

Parks play a key role in the health and wellbeing of the nation not only in the physical and mental health of us all, but also in the environmental health of the planet.

2022 Green Flag Award Cert