Louth County Council celebrate success in the Green Flag parks awards

Louth County Council are celebrating their seventh successive annual win in the An Taisce Green Flag awards.

Blackrock Community Park, Ice House Hill Park and St Helena’s Park, Dundalk, along with St. Dominic’s Park, Drogheda, have all retained their Green Flags, following another positive assessment by the Green Parks judging panel.

Four of County Louth’s largest public parks, they are proudly managed and maintained by the Placemaking and Physical Development Directorate at Louth County Council.

The Green Flag Award is the international quality benchmark for the public green space sector. The scheme is now operating in 17 countries around the world and has been running for over 25 years. 

Louth County Council has been participating in the scheme since 2016.

In Ireland a total of 101 parks and gardens have been awarded Green Flags this year. In 2023 participating European countries included: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Turkey.

The Green Flag scheme uses eight different key criteria to assess participating parks, with an emphasis on environmental management, health and safety, presentation, etc.  Management plans for each park have been put in place and these are assessed by a network of competent judges, who also conduct an annual inspection of each park.

Louth County Council Chief Executive, Joan Martin welcomed the awarding of Green Flag status.

“The Green Flag awards, which Louth County Council have proudly retained once again this year, represent the dedication and commitment not only of our staff to maintaining Louth’s beautiful outdoor spaces, but also of individuals and local community groups, and the collaborative work that is done every day to ensure public parks across the county are welcoming, safe spaces for everyone to enjoy.”

The Green Flag Award scheme aims to encourage the provision of good quality public parks and green spaces that are managed in environmentally sustainable ways and achieve high environmental performance.

The Place making and Physical Development Directorate thanked volunteers, in particular Blackrock Park Committee, local community groups, the Council Management Team and staff who have worked tirelessly to achieve Green Flag status for another year.