Ellington Park awarded the coveted Green Flag Award as it is officially recognised as one of the country’s best parks

In a record-breaking year, Ellington Park is raising its prestigious Green Flag Award

Today, Thanet District Council is celebrating after receiving a Green Flag Award for Ellington Park, one of 2,208 UK winners. The award is the international quality mark for parks and green spaces. This is the first time that a Green Flag Award® has been given to a public park within the district of Thanet.

In 2021 Ellington Park was lovingly restored through a unique partnership agreement between The Friends of Ellington Park and Thanet District Council. The restoration was supported by £1.8million funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund through the Parks for People programme.

The project was a sympathetic regeneration of the park, ensuring its important heritage remained at its heart. A new multipurpose café and toilet building was created, along with a children’s playground and improved access to the park’s miniature railway. The historic pathways, flint terrace and balustrade were restored, as well as the 120-year-old bandstand, which remains a key heritage feature and centrally-located performance hub.

After two years that have seen our parks and green spaces play a vital role for people through lockdowns as a place to relax, exercise and meet friends and family safely, the news that Ellington Park has achieved the Green Flag Award is testament to the hard work and dedication of the team that make the green space a great space that everyone can enjoy.

Ellington Park has also achieved the Green Heritage Site Accreditation, supported by Historic England, for the management of its historic features.

Cllr George Kup, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Youth Engagement at Thanet District Council said, “This award recognises the great work that can be achieved through strong community partnerships. It is great to see local residents and visitors really embracing the new facilities alongside the heritage elements of the park, in what is now a true hub for the community.

“I would like to congratulate the Friends of Ellington Park for this achievement, along with council officers, the Landscape Architects, Allen Scott; Architects, Clague; and Project Manager, Contract Administrator and Quantity Surveyor, Woodley Coles, whose combined efforts have resulted in an award-winning park.“

The Friends of Ellington Park said, “We are so pleased that Ellington Park has been given this award. It is an amazing achievement and following the wonderful regeneration of the park, thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, it acknowledges the hard work of all the parties involved in making Ellington Park a beautiful open space to be enjoyed by all.”

Commenting on the news that Ellington Park has met the Green Flag Award standard, Keep Britain Tidy’s Accreditation Manager Paul Todd said: “I would like to congratulate everyone involved in making Ellington Park worthy of a Green Flag Award.

“Ellington Park is a vital green space for the community in Ramsgate. This award is testament to all the hard work of staff and volunteers, who do so much to ensure that it maintains the high standards demanded by the Green Flag Award.”

The Green Flag Award scheme, managed by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, recognises and rewards well-managed parks and green spaces, setting the benchmark standard for the management of green spaces across the United Kingdom and around the world.

You can read more about the Ellington Park regeneration programme on our website: https://www.thanet.gov.uk/info-pages/ellington-park-regeneration-scheme/

A full list of Green Flag Award-winning parks and green spaces is available here.