City flies the Green Flag for best parks
CARDIFF has the highest number of quality parks and green spaces in Wales, a panel of outdoor experts has decided.
The capital achieved 12 coveted Green Flag Awards for the excellent standard of its public gardens – more than any other local authority in Wales.
Bute Park, Cardiff Bay Barrage and Flat Holm Island were among the winners of the international mark of quality.
Peter Bradbury, Cardiff council’s cabinet member for culture and leisure, said: “I’m delighted we have been able to add to the number of flags we have been awarded this year with the Cardiff Bay Wetlands being recognised for the first time and that the city has continued to gain more of the prestigious Green Flags than anywhere else in Wales.
“I encourage people in Cardiff to get out and about and enjoy them this summer.”
In total, 183 parks and green spaces in Wales have received the Green Flag Award or the Green Flag Community Award – the benchmark for outdoor areas that are managed by volunteers.
Cardiff achieved a total of 24 awards, followed by the Vale of Glamorgan with 18 and Swansea with 14.
The scheme is delivered in Wales by Keep Wales Tidy, with support from Welsh Government and judged by green-space experts, who assess applicant sites against eight strict criteria.
They include horticultural standards, cleanliness, environmental management and community involvement. Lucy Prisk, Green Flag coordinator at Keep Wales Tidy, said: “The Green Flag Award is all about connecting people with the very best parks and green spaces.
“Keep Wales Tidy is proud to run the scheme in Wales because we know having a good quality environment can have a big impact on our communities, health and well-being, and economy.”
Among this year’s first-time recipients of the award are Aberfan Cemetery, Swansea University and The Kymin in Penarth.
Winners of the Green Flag Community Award include Chapter Community Garden in Cardiff, Barry Community Garden in the Vale of Glamorgan and Cwm Clydach Countryside Park in Rhondda Cynon Taf. MICHAEL Gove promised to deliver a “green Brexit”, which sets global gold standards on policies ranging from pesticides to wildlife protection and animal welfare.
Leaving the European Union provides a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to reform farming, fisheries and land management, the Environment Secretary said, in his first keynote speech since replacing fellow Brexiteer Andrea Leadsom after the General Election.
Speaking at WWF’s Living Planet Centre in Woking, Mr Gove told an audience of environmental and countryside organisations that Brexit gives scope for Britain to be a global leader in green policy.
Many of the laws on the environment currently come from Brussels, from agricultural policy and farming subsidies, to air pollution limits, bathing water quality, wildlife protection and climate action such as energy efficiency standards.
Environmentalists have raised fears over the fate of EU regulation, amid calls in some quarters to cut “red tape” on everything from energy efficiency to protecting habitats.
They have warned that process of transferring rules to UK law must not weaken them, but Mr Gove moved to reassure them Brexit will be a force for good.
“Leaving the EU gives us opportunity to reform how we manage agriculture and fisheries, how we care for our land, our rivers and our seas, how we recast our ambition for our environment, and the planet. In short, it means delivering a green Brexit.”
Mr Gove acknowledged the damage done to the UK and global environment in the past and said that a “Government of global Britain” should not just lead on security or trade but also champion sustainable development, be a leader in environmental science and an innovator in clean, green growth.