Mid Ulster beauty spots maintain prestigious Green Flag Awards

The Hill of The O’Neill, Dungannon Park and Maghera Walled Garden were all awarded the Green Flag Award. Parks and open spaces wishing to achieve Green Flag status must have a site management plan in place and be able to demonstrate they comply with a range of strict criteria including horticultural standards, cleanliness, environmental management, biodiversity, community involvement and safety standards.

Chair of Mid Ulster District Council, Councillor Cathal Mallaghan said, “The continuing achievement of the Green Flag Awards across the three Mid Ulster sites of Hill of The O’Neill, Dungannon Park and Maghera Walled Garden, especially in the challenging circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, is testament to the hard work our staff put in to ensure that our high quality green spaces remained open, and continue to be as accessible, environmentally sustainable, and as pleasant to use as they possibly can be for members of the public.

“Our outdoor spaces contribute to the physical and mental health and well-being of our local community through providing calm, peaceful, green spaces that allow us to get in touch with nature, and relax and revive in the great outdoors, something that is even more important as we deal with the challenges of COVID-19 in our communities.”

Dr Ian Humphreys, Chief Executive of Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful said: “Northern Ireland’s parks and open spaces play a hugely important role in supporting our local communities, both in terms of providing recreational space but also for supporting health and wellbeing. This has been highlighted now more than ever as our parks and open spaces provided a haven to many during the difficult lockdown period. It is fantastic to see such a high number of sites in Northern Ireland meeting the international standard for excellence.”

The Awards are judged annually by a panel of experts, who volunteer their time to assess the management plans and the applicant sites through a rigorous judging process. A Green Flag flying overhead is a sign to the public that the space boasts the highest possible standards, is beautifully maintained and has excellent facilities.

All three sites managed by the Council are proud to fly the Green Flag in recognition of the outstanding quality of their green space and the hard work and dedication required to achieve such an outstanding award.

--- A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper whenever you are able to do so.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper when you can safely.

You can also enjoy unlimited access to the best news from across Northern Ireland and the UK by subscribing to newsletter.co.uk

With a digital subscription, you can read more than five articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Thank you