Douglas has retained its nine Green Flags for 2020.

The Green Flag award scheme, managed by the UK environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, recognises and rewards well-managed parks and green spaces, setting the benchmark standard for the management of recreational outdoor spaces across the British Isles and around the world.

With Covid-19 rulings restricting travel for site inspections, this year’s awards were made following a desk-based assessment.

First awarded in 2019, the nine Green Flags retained by Douglas are for Derby Square, Douglas Borough Cemetery, Douglas Golf Course, Douglas Head, Hutchinson Square, the Kaye Memorial Garden, the Marine Gardens, Noble’s Park and Summerhill Glen.

Regeneration and Community Committee Chair Councillor Stephen Pitts said: ‘For Douglas to have retained all nine Green Flags in this most difficult of years is testimony to the dedication of the Council’s Park Service team. As soon as coronavirus restrictions were eased locally, the team made every effort to ensure our parks and green spaces provided welcome havens at a point in community life when spending time outdoors became all the more important for people’s health and general wellbeing. I congratulate the team on their continued success.’

Council Leader Councillor David Christian MBE JP said: ‘Although nine green flags were first awarded to Douglas in 2019, achieving such an impressive tally is far from an automatic “tick box” process, as winners have to re-submit all their applications every year, so for Douglas this has been quite a journey. In 2013 at the first application Douglas was awarded two Green Flags, one for Noble’s Park, the other for the Marine Gardens. In 2014 two more flags were added, Douglas Golf Course and Douglas Head. 2015 saw Hutchinson Square recognised, making five Green Flags and in 2016 the count rose to six with the addition of Douglas Borough Crematorium and Cemetery. These were retained in 2017 and in 2018 Derby Square and Summerhill Glen brought the total to eight, then in 2019 the Kaye Memorial Garden became our ninth green space to be awarded Green Flag status.

‘Such consistent success illustrates the level of importance the Council places on delivering good quality parks and green spaces across the Borough; it is a commitment central to our Corporate Plan. I am therefore delighted that our commitment has been publicly recognised yet again by such a respected and independent charitable organisation.’