Do you think
that your local green space is the best in the country? Here’s your chance to
prove it. National charity Fields in Trust have launched a campaign to find the UK’s Best Park, as voted by YOU! This unique award is open to all public green
spaces across the UK through a simple online nomination at www.fieldsintrust.org/bestpark.
It might be that your local park is great for a Sunday afternoon stroll, your neighbourhood
playground is a hive of activity for children, or a nature reserve provides a stress-free space to relax. This is your chance
to help your favourite space gain the recognition it deserves.
Launching the awards Former England International footballer Graeme Le Saux said “The
Fields in Trust’s annual awards are a fantastic way for us to recognise the
organisations and individuals who help make our parks, playgrounds and playing
fields the best they can be. I was very fortunate that growing up in Jersey I
had a huge amount of access to outdoor spaces and it was something I really
appreciated as a youngster, not just because I wanted to be a football player
but also because I was able to spend time outdoors with my friends. I
understand the importance of these spaces and the opportunities they provide
for our communities.”
At a time when
the UK’s parks are seeing a dramatic reduction
in funding for upkeep and maintenance and childhood obesity is identified as a growing concern, the UK’s Best Park award will highlight the vital role of local parks
and green spaces – for play, relaxation or sport – and help ensure they are
protected from closure or building development.
UK’s Best Park is a unique award open to
all local green spaces across the UK. A simple online nomination form, open
from 23rd September will allow anyone to suggest their favourite
green space. This will be followed by a public vote to identify a shortlist with
the winner announced at the Fields in Trust Awards evening on 30th November.
Fields in Trust
Chief Executive Helen Griffiths
said "Parks
and open spaces are arguably the most universal of all public services. They
are used by the entire community from pre-school children through to retired
adults - our nation's parks and green spaces are places to enjoy life
experiences, whether that’s reaching a personal sporting milestone, teaching
grandchildren to cycle, engaging with nature, having a first kiss or simply
walking a much loved dog.
“Our Awards help recognise the role that our
parks play in our communities, bringing people together and creating a safe
outdoor environment that everyone should be entitled to. We want to celebrate
them and invite all park users to vote for their favourite green space.”
The UK’s Best Park award is one of eleven
categories that together form the fifth, annual Fields in Trust Awards. Winners will be revealed at Lord’s Cricket
Ground on 30th November in an event which celebrates the
achievements of individuals and organisations who have worked over the last
year to ensure that everyone has access to protected outdoor recreational
space.
Categories
include the Community Champion Award and, sponsored by Environmental
regeneration charity Groundwork, the
Young Community Champion Award. A new category for 2016 is for the Best
Athletics Project on a Fields in Trust site supported by England Athletics and parkrun,
which will celebrate projects which have increased community participation in
running or athletics.
Fields in Trust,
the only national charity that safeguards recreational green space, want to
recognise the role that parks play in our communities, bringing people together
and creating a safe outdoor environment that everyone should be entitled to.
-ENDS-
For
media enquiries, please contact
Richard McKeever richard.mckeever@fieldsintrust.org
t: 020 7427 2117 m: 07940 072832
NOTES TO
EDITORS
About Fields in Trust
Fields in Trust is a national
charity that operates throughout the UK to safeguard recreational spaces and
campaign for better statutory protection for all kinds of outdoor sites.
Founded in 1925 as the National
Playing Fields Association by King George V, their mission is the same now and
as it was then: to ensure that everyone – young or old, able-bodied or disabled
and wherever they live – should have access to free, local outdoor space for
sport, play and recreation. These spaces are vital to building happy and
healthy communities and sadly continue to be threatened by all kinds of
development.
About UK’s Best Park
Nominations for UK's Best Park, as voted by YOU! 2016
will open at 9am on Friday 23rd September.
Nominators submit a
short 50 word description explaining why the space should be considered as UK's best. Nominations close at 5pm on
Wednesday 19th October.
Voting opens for those
parks nominated at 9am on Thursday 20th October.
The park with the most
votes in each of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will be
shortlisted. Their nominators will be invited to attend the prestigious Fields in Trust Awards on Wednesday 30th November where the UK's Best Park, as voted by YOU! 2016 will be named.
www.fieldsintrust.org/bestpark
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