Keep Britain Tidy will look to accredit more green spaces with the coveted Green Flag Award and will create an academy to support the hundreds of volunteer judges who assess sites, and the wider sector, after it was announced today that the charity will administer the scheme until at least 2030.
The Green Flag Award is the international quality standard for parks and green spaces, providing the high standards against which sites are measured, and which land managers, local authorities and volunteers pledge to achieve when applying for the award.
The scheme was launched 29 years ago, with the first awards given a year later, to recognise and reward the best green spaces in the country
Celebrating the news, Keep Britain Tidy said it will look to increase the number of green spaces reaching the high standards of the award in the next five years, following this year’s record-breaking year, and will start to establish a Green Flag Award Academy to support hundreds of volunteer judges who help to assess more than 2,000 sites every year.
The academy will work with the parks sector to identify training needs and skills gaps and look to address them. The charity will also look to inform councillors, through the academy, about what constitutes quality green space, its importance and value for communities, and support them in their work.
Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, Chief Executive of Keep Britain TidyKeep Britain Tidy believes that we should all have access to high-quality green space - in an ideal world, this would mean that there would be safe and accessible high-quality parks within walking distance for everyone in the country.
Keep Britain Tidy’s Chief Executive, Allison Ogden-Newton OBE said: “We are committed to working closely with all stakeholders to develop and grow the Green Flag Award scheme and are excited and proud to have been awarded the contract for another five years.
“Keep Britain Tidy believes that we should all have access to high-quality green space - in an ideal world, this would mean that there would be safe and accessible high-quality parks within walking distance for everyone in the country.
“The charity has made huge strides over the past 16 years to increase the amount of high-quality public space, with a record-breaking 2,250 parks receiving Green Flag Awards this year.
“Quality parks and green spaces make the UK a heathier place in which to live and work, and a stronger place in which to invest.
“During the first 12 months we will begin work to review the Green Flag Award criteria to ensure alignment with the latest research and learning from the sector and we will also launch a new online portal using the latest technology to enhance the experience of both applicants and judges
Keep Britain Tidy is a leading environmental charity that has been working to improve the quality of the local environment for more than 70 years.
The charity has a wealth of experience in working with local authorities and other duty bodies and has delivered the Green Flag Award for the past 16 years, so is well-placed to continue to deliver this important project over the next five years.
MHCLG Minister for Parks and Green Spaces, Baroness Taylor of Stevenage OBE said: "Green spaces are so important to our communities' health and wellbeing, and the Green Flag Award sets the gold standard for parks across the country. Keep Britain Tidy has an outstanding track record of delivering this scheme, and we're delighted to continue our partnership for another five years. With a record-breaking 2,250 awards this year, this announcement will help even more communities access the high-quality green spaces they deserve."
Green Flag Award winners 2025
2,250 parks and green spaces across the UK reached the high standards required to receive a coveted Green Flag Award in 2025 – more than ever recorded before - for a range of sites including world-famous city parks and small, local green spaces.
Green Flag Award Manager Paul Todd MBE said: “The Green Flag Award team is delighted at the opportunity to continue to deliver the scheme for the next five years. We have many new developments in the pipeline which we’ll be sharing shortly with our judges and applicants. We’re excited to be able to continue working with our amazing judges to raise the standard of parks green spaces.”