The best parks and green spaces across the West Midlands have reached the high standards required to receive a coveted Green Flag Award in 2023.

The scheme, now in its 27th year, is celebrating as 151 parks in the region are proudly preparing to raise their flags.

The Green Flag Award, regarded as the international quality mark for parks, has seen successful submissions from local authorities and other land managers across the country for a range of sites, from world-famous city parks to small, local green spaces.

They include parks and green spaces as diverse as Stourbridge Canal, Bowring Park in Telford and Wollescote Park Sensory Garden.

In addition, 135 winners nationally have also received a Green Heritage Site Accreditation for the management of historic features, supported in England by Historic England.

To achieve Green Heritage Site Accreditation, winners have to understand and take action to conserve the heritage value of their site. They also need to help people to understand and enjoy its unique history, from nationally important parks to local green spaces that help tell the story of places and communities. Keep Britain Tidy Chief Executive Allison Ogden-Newton OBE said:

“Our parks continue to provide a vital sanctuary for communities to play, grow and bond. The news that 151 parks in the West Midlands have achieved the Green Flag Award standard reflects the tireless work of those tasked with looking after these regional assets.

“At Keep Britain Tidy, we’re very proud of the 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. Congratulations to all this year’s winners.”

The Green Flag Award scheme is managed by Keep Britain Tidy under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, setting the benchmark standard for the management of recreational outdoor spaces across the United Kingdom and around the world.

Keep Britain Tidy also provides the secretariat for the Parks & Green Spaces APPG, which was established in late 2020 and is chaired by Liz Twist MP.