How Green Flags are won

Green Flags are awarded annually and the status only lasts one year. This year’s winners (from a record 1851 submissions) will be announced on 18th July.

Applications are submitted by the park’s local authority. To get the award, a park must pass two inspections. The first is formal, involving trained judges meeting the park’s managers, workforce and users, and inspecting the management plan, facilities and maintenance standards.

The second is a mystery shop: the judges come back incognito, evaluating the park as an everyday user. “We have a team of around 700 volunteer judges,” explains Paul Todd. “They usually work in recreation in some way, but they never inspect in their own area as that wouldn’t be fair.

“The best part is the idea sharing. If they’re inspecting a park that has a particular problem, more often than not they can say something like, ‘ah, they had this problem in Blackburn and this is how they solved it.’”