Harrogate Borough Council
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30 July 2008 Ripon Spa Gardens once again holds the region's
record for the number of Green Flags it holds with the announcement
on 24 July that they have been awarded another.
In 2001, these delightful gardens in the centre of Ripon City
were the only park in Yorkshire and Humber to attain this
accolade. They have kept up the standard by
being annually awarded a Green Flag ever
since.
A Green Flag is the national award for high standards in
public open spaces. The judges look
for parks and open spaces which have a high quality landscape; are
welcoming, safe, clean and well maintained. They
also look for those that are sustainable and also involve the local
community.
Councillor Pat Jones, Harrogate Borough Council's Cabinet
Member for Cultural Services, is delighted with this
award. She said: "This eighth successful award
is a wonderful achievement and certainly recognises the care and
attention to detail which this small park gets.
Many people use the gardens and it is a treat to see the whole
family out enjoying the facilities on offer. I
do hope that those residents and visitors who haven't visited the
gardens for a while will pop along and see just how special they
are. I would like to congratulate everyone from
the council's own team to the many volunteers who work alongside
them through the Spa Gardens Forum. We also get
a tremendous amount of support from the Ripon Girl Guiding
Division."
In their report, the judges said:
Staff show a commitment to Spa
Gardens. This appears at all levels. There are
high standards of horticultural displays which are a credit to the
team as well as close links with the local
community. There is a healthy bowling club who
are appreciative of improvements and management of the
Gardens. There is also good consideration of
style of replacement railings and stonework and we particularly
liked how floral displays are linked to the local cultural
heritage.