Award-winning parks helping create healthier, greener and more connected communities across Buckinghamshire

The Green Flag Award is the international quality mark for parks and green spaces, recognising sites that are welcoming, safe, well-maintained and managed to the highest standards. This year, Higginson Park in Marlow, Vale Park and Bedgrove Park in Aylesbury, Heartlands in Buckingham, Hughenden Park and The Rye in High Wycombe, along with Black Park and Langley Park Country Parks, have all retained their Green Flag status.

Paul Todd MBE, Green Flag Award Manager at Keep Britain Tidy, said:

“Parks are essential public spaces that support our wellbeing, our communities and our economy. Yet for millions of people, particularly in the most deprived areas, local parks simply don’t feel safe or welcoming.

“With public services under pressure, investing in parks is not a luxury, it’s a practical, preventative solution and one of the most visible ways to improve people’s quality of life.

“Buckinghamshire Council have shown what can be achieved when parks are properly supported and managed. As we celebrate 30 years of the Green Flag Award, we want every community to have access to green spaces like these that are safe, welcoming and maintained to a high standard.

Congratulations to everyone involved.”

Looking ahead, residents and visitors will also be able to celebrate Buckinghamshire's award-winning parks during Love Parks Week (24 July to 2 August). Over the past year, Buckinghamshire Council has continued to invest in its parks and green spaces, including improvements at Whitehill Park in Aylesbury and The Rye in High Wycombe, helping to ensure these much-loved community spaces remain welcoming, accessible and enjoyable for everyone.

The council is also supporting community-led improvements to neighbourhood parks through the Healthy School Neighbourhoods (HSN) pilot, a Public Health-led initiative focused on creating healthier, more active communities around schools in Elmhurst Ward, Aylesbury, and Cressex Ward, High Wycombe. The pilot forms part of the wider Opportunity Bucks programme and supports healthier lifestyles, stronger community connections and improvements to local green spaces.

As part of the initiative, Alfred Rose Memorial Park in Aylesbury has recently opened a new King Alfred Castle-themed playground, completed in time for the summer holidays. Local pupils from Elmhurst School played a key role in shaping the project, first proposing ideas for a healthier playground and then voting for their preferred design.

Improvements have also been made in Cressex as part of Healthy School Neighbourhoods, with a new outdoor gym in Booker Park, helping to create more opportunities for pupils and local residents to be physically active and enjoy their community spaces.

Pupils and members of the local community have also been working alongside environmental charity Earthwatch to enhance Alfred Rose Memorial Park for both people and wildlife, planting wildflower plugs and sowing wildflower seed to encourage biodiversity.

Alongside improvements to local green spaces, the HSN pilot supports a range of community wellbeing activities, including work with local businesses through the Good Food Takeaway Project, which aims to create a healthier local food environment.

Following the success of the pilot, the initiative is set to be rolled out to around 15 schools across Buckinghamshire over the next three to five years.

Peter Brazier, Buckinghamshire Council's Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure, said:

“The Green Flag Awards are fantastic recognition of the high standards we continue to achieve across Buckinghamshire's parks and green spaces, and a testament to the professionalism and dedication of our parks teams, rangers, volunteers and community partners. I wish to thank them personally

Our parks play a vital role in supporting health and wellbeing, encouraging people to be active, connect with nature and spend time together. As we celebrate Love Parks Week, we're proud to continue investing in these valued community spaces, whether that's through improvements at parks such as Whitehill Park and The Rye, or by working with local young people and residents to help shape the future of places like Alfred Rose Park.

By investing in our parks, we're investing in healthier, greener and more connected communities across Buckinghamshire."