Dorchester raises the Green Flag in Borough Gardens!
After another fantastic year for Green Flag entries nationally and internationally, Borough Gardens is celebrating raising its prestigious Green Flag yet again!
Dorchester’s Mayor Robin Potter said:
“To receive the award again this year is fantastic news. I often visit the gardens and know they are always in fabulous condition which is a credit to the team whose hard work results in such a beautiful gardens for residents of Dorchester and visitors to enjoy. I was very pleased to meet them again and thank them for their efforts and to receive the flag which will be formally raised as part of our free to enter Love Parks Day event on Thursday the 25th of July. We are so lucky to have the gardens centrally located in Dorchester so people can easily access them to take a walk, sit and relax or just enjoy being outside. We have delivered further improvements in the gardens this year with a further new flower bed layout and shrub planting. Currently the Borough gardens house community room is being redecorated which will soon be available to hire for meetings etc.
We are also pleased to say that, thanks to funding from the Lawn Tennis Association, one set of tennis courts in the gardens will be freshly resurfaced and painted in August.”
Borough Gardens is a busy but peaceful green space for the community in Dorchester, there are numerous events held there through the summer appealing to all tastes such as weekly weekend music events, the cider festival and the ever-popular Love Parks Day, a fantastic family orientated day full of fun activities, which this year falls on the 25th of July. A full list of events can be found on the Dorchester Town Council and Borough Gardens face book pages.
Keep Britain Tidy’s Green Flag Award Scheme Manager Paul Todd MBE said:
“I would like to congratulate everyone involved at Dorchester Town Council in achieving a Green Flag Award. Borough Gardens is a vital green space for the community of Dorchester socialise, enjoy nature, for children to play safely and it provides important opportunities for park users to improve their physical and mental health.
We know that staff and volunteers work tirelessly to ensure that it maintains the high standards of the Green Flag Award, everyone involved should feel extremely proud of their achievement. It is important that our free to use spaces are maintained to the Green Flag Award standard, making them accessible for all members of the community while ensuring the environment is protected.”
The gardens are maintained very carefully by a dedicated-on site team of professional gardening staff who are supported by the Outdoor Services team and Park Attendants in the evenings and at weekends. The gardens comprise bright flower displays, shrub and rose beds, lawns, period architectural features including a fountain, clock and bandstand, tennis courts, play equipment including a fun water section and even a human sundial! Visitors can also enjoy refreshments from the on-site kiosk whist enjoying the sun or sitting in the shade of the numerous majestic mature trees.
Sites are assessed against 27 different criteria when judged and they must also have a management plan which is separately assessed against a further 9. In addition, sites will receive un-announced “mystery shops” with judges checking that the quality of the site is maintained throughout the year.
