Higginson Park and The Rye retain prestigious Green Flag awards

The prestigious Green Flags will continue to fly proudly over The Rye in High Wycombe and Higginson Park in Marlow for another year after they were named among the best open spaces in the UK.

The International Green Flag Award judges have ruled that the two parks, both managed by Wycombe District Council, boast the highest possible standards are beautifully maintained and provide excellent facilities to visitors.

It is the fourth consecutive year that the prestigious award has been bestowed on The Rye in High Wycombe and comes following recent improvements including the upgrading of the cycle path surface behind The Dyke, the planting of the annual meadow and the installation of owl boxes.

It will be the twelfth successive year that Higginson Park will fly the Green Flag. The park has also seen owl boxes installed and the annual meadow planted by the popular skate park in recent weeks.

Cllr Julia Adey, Wycombe District Council’s Cabinet member for Community, said: ‘We are absolutely delighted to once again receive a Green Flag Award for two of our major parks from Keep Britain Tidy.

This award recognises that people in High Wycombe and Marlow are benefiting from green spaces of the highest quality.

It also highlights the excellent and hard work this council, our contractors Quadron and John O’Conner put in to maintaining the high standards in our open spaces and parks.‘

The Green Flag Awards come just weeks after a council survey of park users revealed 98% of people asked said the two open spaces and Hughenden Park were either very good or good, with 96% saying they felt safe during their visit.

Residents praised the way the parks were maintained by the council, the access the open spaces provide to the River Thames and the River Wye, and that all three parks were good for children.

The Rye in High Wycombe and Marlow’s Higginson Park are among 1,582 parks around the country to fly the Green Flag this year.