Hemel Hempstead’s Gadebridge Park has been nominated for the UK’s Best Park award and local MP Sir Mike Penning is encouraging constituents to support the park in a UK-wide competition organised by green space charity, Fields in Trust.
A total of 364 public nominations for parks and green spaces across the UK have been made – and 37 of these are in the East of England region - each one a much-loved part of its local community. Now it is time to choose the winners via an online public vote at http://www.fieldsintrust.org/best-park/east until noon on Monday 19th August.
Sir Mike said:
“Gadebridge Park is at the very heart of our community. There is quite literally something for everyone. For the active there is the splash park, new play equipment, skate park and the park run. For the more reflective we have the improved River Gade, the fabulous walled garden and the SANDS memorial garden. I urge everyone to vote online to show their support”.
Cllr Rob Beauchamp added:
“Gadebridge Park is regarded by many as an all-inclusive park with facilities to appeal to a broad spectrum of age groups, in addition the fantastic play areas for children; it also hosts one of the largest weekly Health Walk groups in the UK, has modern adult outdoor gym equipment and is the home of the Hemel Hempstead Bowls Club; who will be celebrating their centenary in 2020. While the Friends of Gadebridge Park are regarded as the public custodians of the park and regularly organise litter picking events in the park and conduct public consultations to listen and pass on views of the park using public to authorities.”
Fields in Trust is a UK-wide charity that legally protects parks and green spaces in perpetuity. The UK’s Best Park Award recognises the role that parks play in our communities, supporting mental and physical health and bringing people together. Last month Fields in Trust published research which revealed that over 2.5 million people across Great Britain live more than ten-minutes’ walk from a park or green space and the east of England region has over 314,000 people whose nearest green space is more than 10-minutes-walk from home.
Fields in Trust Chief Executive Helen Griffiths said:
“Our parks and green spaces are a vital part of UK community infrastructure. We know that they provide benefits to the physical health, mental wellbeing and community connections for people that use them, so we are delighted to see a record number of nominations for the UK’s Best Park award and it is encouraging to see so many people celebrating how much they love their local park. Fields in Trust is committed to protecting these valuable and much-loved parks and green spaces for future generations to enjoy.”
Nominations for UK’s Best Park 2019 include small community gardens and large nature reserves, sports fields and playgrounds; each green space valued by its community and nominated by the regular park users who love to walk, run, cycle, relax, picnic and play with their children in the UK’s parks. At the conclusion of voting the park with the most votes in each of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will be shortlisted with the UK’s Best Park 2019 announced in mid-September.
Photo: Sir Mike Penning MP with local Councillors, Cllr Frances Arslan and Cllr Bob Beauchamp.