EDITOR'S CHOICE NEWS Winston proposes 100 years after Churchill CRICKET CRICKET: Boardman's century boosts Westbury CRICKET: Super Bicester knock holders out of cup CINEMA The Cool School, A Walk into the Sea, Black and White + Gray, and Little Box of Sweets VOTE Should more no cold-calling zones be set up? Yes No Don't know GET OUR NEWS BY E-MAIL Just register

Most read Comments 1 GCSE: Delight as results set record 2 Man stopped rage attack 3 GCSE: Top marks for schools 4 GCSE: Anxious wait ends 5 Detention centre inspires novel 6 Lewis backs boatyard 7 Boy, 14, charged with knife offence 8 Bingo woman wins £61,000 9 Arsonists attack cars in Jericho 10 The Dark Knight Today | 7 Days 1 Boy, 14, charged with knife offence 2 Despair as drug ruled too expensive 3 Police seize 6,000 cars 4 No escort for troops' bodies

Comment

Accolade: Park staff with the award

A corner of Oxford has been honoured in a nationwide scheme to recognise Britain's best parks and green spaces.

Florence Park was given a Green Flag Award for the first time after judges assessed its looks, tidiness and place within the local community.

Wallingford Castle Meadows, in south Oxfordshire, picked up the same accolade, joining a list of just 75 sites in the South East to have the award.

Any green space freely accessible to the public is eligible for the scheme, which is managed by the Civic Trust charity, but each site must apply for the renewal of its Green Flag status every year. In Oxford, Cutteslowe, Sunnymead and Hinksey parks also have Green Flags.

Florence Park was opened in 1934 after the land was presented to the city by Councillor FE Moss in memory of his sister Florence.

Phil Cross, chairman of Florence Park Community Association, said: "It's very good to get this award. There aren't too many open spaces about, especially in the city, and this one is very well maintained."

Last year, Florence Park almost lost its flowerbeds for good when it was proposed that the funds should be used instead for someone to lock the gates.

In October, city councillor Bryan Keen vowed to "move heaven and earth" to keep the floral displays and then extra money was found.

John Todd, chairman of the Friends of Florence Park, said: "I'm delighted. The park is one of Oxford's hidden gems."

Park supervising officer Doug Loveridge said: "We're really proud to have been awarded Green Flag status. It's great that the ongoing hard work of staff is being recognised and it is benefiting the local community."

4:11pm Thursday 24th July 2008

Print

Email this

Comment

Add your comment

Name:
Email: *
Location:
**
	e.g. 123-123
Comment: Please note: All HTML tags will be ignored. Format Text:
By posting a comment, I confirm that I have read and agree to the terms of use. Comments are not moderated but we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention and we may delete inappropriate postings. Please treat other people with respect. You must not post anything that is abusive, indecent, unlawful or defamatory. Remember, you are personally liable for what you post on this site. If you wish to complain about a comment, contact us here.
* Your email address will not be displayed ** To avoid register now or login