Five parks retain Green Flag status – and Tilgate makes it 20 in a row!

Tilgate Park, Goffs Park, Memorial Gardens, Worth Park and Ifield Mill Pond all kept their Green Flag Awards for 2022.

The Green Flag Award is the international quality mark for parks and green spaces and is testament to the hard work and dedication of the teams that make the green spaces places that everyone can enjoy.

For Tilgate Park, this is the 20th consecutive year it has received the award. Set in 400 acres, its natural landscape boasts Tilgate Nature Centre alongside ancient woodland, lakes, gardens and lawns, the Lakeside Café, Tilgate Forest Golf Centre, the Walled Garden Café, Go Ape treetop adventures and a segway trail, lake activities with Tilgate Park Watersports Centre and the Smith & Western restaurant.

Goffs Park has also now been awarded the Green Flag 14 times. The popular park features a lake, miniature railway and great play facilities.

For Memorial Gardens, this is its 14th Green Flag. Situated in the heart of the town centre, the gardens are the perfect place for shoppers and workers to relax and enjoy the colourful surroundings.

This is the fourth consecutive year that Worth Park has been awarded a Green Flag with the historic park’s formal gardens, a stunning fountain, stone balustrading, a listed rockery, a wooded lake, a meadow, croquet lawns and a tennis court impressing the judges.

Worth Park has also again received a Green Heritage Site Accreditation, supported by Historic England, for the management of its historic features.

Ifield Mill Pond has received the Green Flag award for the third year running. Considered the most important wetland site in the town and designated a Site of Nature Conservation Importance, the beautiful area features Bewbush Water Gardens, an area of semi-formal ponds and natural planting.

Councillor Chris Mullins, Cabinet member for Wellbeing at Crawley Borough Council, said: “These awards reflect the hard work and dedication of our staff who maintain our parks and make them look their best.

“We are fortunate to have such beautiful parks and green spaces and I’m particularly delighted that Tilgate Park has made it 20 Green Flags in a row – an incredible achievement.”

Paul Todd, Keep Britain Tidy’s Accreditation Manager, said: “I would like to congratulate everyone involved in making these parks worthy of Green Flag Awards.

“All five parks are vital green spaces for the community in Crawley. These awards are testament to all the hard work of staff and volunteers, who do so much to ensure that they maintain the high standards demanded by the Green Flag Award.”

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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.

For more information about parks in Crawley visit crawley.gov.uk/parks