Newry, Mourne and Down District Council Chairperson, Councillor Charlie Casey celebrates the Green Flag Award for Warrenpoint Municipal Park 2019-2020 with park staff and volunteers.  From left: Jim Boylan, Brian McCalmont and Olga Fitzpatrick, Park Steering Committee; Mark Kelly, President WBR Chamber of Commerce; Chairperson, Councillor Charlie Casey; Joanne Cummins, Heritage Officer; Gerry Kane, Park Keeper; Shane McGivern, Project Development Officer and Rodney McBride, Volunteer Outreach.

Kilbroney Park, Slieve Gullion Forest Park and, for the first time, Warrenpoint Municipal Park have received the prestigious Green Flag Award. The awards were presented at a ceremony held at Queen’s University Belfast, where a record 76 parks and public spaces were recognised for their achievement.

The Green Flag Award is a benchmark standard that recognises excellence in the management of public parks and green spaces. Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful, the environmental charity that runs the scheme in Northern Ireland, revealed an ever growing and diverse number of free parks and other spaces that have been awarded a Green Flag. The annual award is an internationally recognised certification for environmental management, horticultural standards, cleanliness, biodiversity and safety standards.

Newry, Mourne and Down District Council Chairperson, Councillor Charlie Casey said, "Our Council is delighted to receive this prestigious Green Flag Award for Slieve Gullion, Kilbroney and Warrenpoint parks. We are fortunate to have so many wonderful green spaces in our district for people to experience, and we encourage the public to head outdoors.

“It is a great honour for the Council to receive this award for our parks and green spaces and I would like to thank the staff, volunteers and all those involved in this great achievement.”

Dr Ian Humphreys, Chief Executive of Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful said, “It is time once again to celebrate a record number of Green Flag Awards; more spaces than ever before are offering wonderful experiences for visitors throughout the year. I also want to thank the staff who give their all to maintain these spaces to such high standards for us to enjoy.”

Parks and open spaces achieving Green Flag status must have a site management plan in place and demonstrate that they comply with a range of strict criteria including horticultural standards, cleanliness, environmental management, biodiversity, community involvement and safety standards. The awards are judged annually by a panel of experts, who volunteer their time to assess the management plans and the applicant sites through a rigorous judging process.