UK's best parks named - number one spot celebrated as 'outstanding' and 'world class'

Manchester's Mayfield Park has been hailed as "world-class" by judges, scooping a prestigious Green Flag Award and an array of industry accolades.

The park, which opened in September 2022, is the first new city-centre park in Manchester in over 100 years and has already won eight industry awards, impressing judges who claimed they had "never seen such an outstanding urban park in 20+ years of judging".

Mayfield Park, currently spanning 6.5 acres, is praised for its exceptional design and management and is set to become the heart of a new district within the city.

This year, a record-breaking 2227 parks across the UK have been awarded for their excellence, with 130 also receiving the Green Heritage Site Accreditation for historic feature management, including Wyndham Park in Grantham, Coombe Abbey Country Park in Coventry, and Lancaster Canal Canal and River Trust.

Since its opening, Mayfield Park has been recognised as "an inspiring benchmark for the park of the future", according to horticulture expert Nigel Dunnett, and has redefined the modern urban park concept, reports the Mirror.

Manchester's Mayfield Park has scooped a staggering eight national and international accolades, celebrating its triumphs in landscape design, urban regeneration, and environmental prowess.

The Green Flag Award, an esteemed international benchmark for parks and green spaces that originated from the UK's Keep Britain Tidy charity over 25 years ago, now recognises excellence across 17 countries including Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Turkey, as reported by the Manchester Evening News.

Judges from the Green Flag Award were lavish in their commendation, stating: "In our 20+ years of judging we have never seen such an outstanding urban park. The original design and specification standards are exceptional, the facilities are of the highest standard and the site security and cleansing is excellent."

Their admiration didn't stop there, as they extolled the park's attributes further: "The play facilities are inspired and exciting, the horticultural and arboricultural standards are brilliant, and the biodiversity of the site is cared-for and blooming. It was a real pleasure and privilege to be the first to judge this world-class park."

Transformed from a neglected space of over 50 years, Mayfield Park now flourishes as a vibrant haven for biodiversity. This city sanctuary features water elements, wetlands, an impressive array of 140 trees, and expanses of bulbs, plants, wildflowers, and shrubs.

It also includes cutting-edge play areas and rain gardens, making it a jewel in Manchester's crown.

Mayfield Park, a beacon of public-private partnership success, was brought to life by the collaborative genius of Studio Egret West alongside Manchester City Council, Transport for Greater Manchester, LCR, and developer Landsec-U+I.

Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, Chief Executive of Keep Britain Tidy, praised the initiative: "Prioritising parks and green spaces is vital for our future, so we are delighted to see that 2,227 sites have met the standards required for a Green Flag Award, reflecting the tireless work of those tasked with looking after these important national assets."

She further insisted that the criteria for receiving such an accolade should represent "the minimum" standard for all green areas.

Ogden-Newton expressed her vision for the future: "It is our ambition that by 2030 we increase the number of sites achieving Green Flag Award status even further so that people across the world, wherever they live, can access and enjoy safe, high-quality green space."

The Green Flag Award's rigorous criteria demand that spaces be secure, impeccably maintained and clean, and support rich biodiversity while minimising environmental impact.