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STOCKTON is celebrating gaining yet another prestigious Green Flag Award - this time for Thornaby Cemetery. Ropner Park, Wynyard Woodland Park, Billingham Beck Valley Country Park and Cowpen Bewley Woodland Park have still retained their Green Flag Award status for having continued to meet the Civic Trust's strict criteria for high standards of service provision. All of the Council's award winning parks are extremely popular with visitors from across the Tees Valley area and provide opportunities for a wide range of activities relating to education, recreation and conservation. The Awards recognise standards of excellence in a public park or green space in recognition of the hard work, dedication and achievement by staff and local people who care passionately about their area. Authorities must re-apply for the award each year, which means staff must continue to keep the high standards through to next year and beyond. The Green Flag Award scheme, managed by the Civic Trust, is the national standard for parks and green spaces. Winners vary from Victorian parks and town centre gardens to nature reserves, country parks and cemeteries. Sites are judged on a range of criteria including being welcoming, safe and well maintained. Thornaby Cemetery has already won an accolade when it was judged the best cemetery of its kind in the country in the 12 acres and above category in the 2006 Cemetery of the Year Awards. Stockton was also the proud winner in 2007 of the Best City category in the Britain in Bloom Competition organised by the Royal Horticultural Society. Councillor Jennie Beaumont, Stockton Borough Council's Cabinet Member for the Environment, said: "This is a wonderful accolade for the staff who work so hard to maintain Thornaby Cemetery and the other winning sites to an extremely high standard. It's kept in exceptional condition and those who visit can do so in an atmosphere of calm surroundings." The actual awards ceremony will take place in Liverpool on Thursday, 24 July at the Liverpool Arena and Conference Centre. http://www.stockton.gov.uk/pressoffice/ |
