The inner city turns green

A park created on industrial wasteland in inner London is today named as one of the best in Britain.

Bow Creek Ecology Park is sited on a tight bend on the River Lea near Canning Town, with a Docklands Light Railway line running through the centre.

The site has been transformed into a wildlife haven and educational garden with reedbeds, ponds and meadows filled with butterflies, dragonflies and kingfishers.

Today it was awarded a Green Flag - along with 150 other public open spaces in the capital - recognising it as one of the best in the country.

The number of London winners has risen 34 per cent this year, representing about a fifth of the 743 awards handed out nationwide.

The list, drawn up by the Civic Trust, includes neighbourhood greens, nature reserves and cemeteries as well as the royal parks and Epping Forest.

One winner was Chestnuts Park in Tottenham, which has had a £500,000 makeover and now includes a wildflower meadow, relaid paths and a refurbished playground.

Among new entries on the list are Barra Hall Park in Hayes, which was a magnet for vandals and yobs until residents cleaned it up, and the 13th-century Well Hall Pleasaunce in Eltham, restored to its former glory with the help of a National Lottery grant.

Other winners include Trinity Square Gardens in Tower Hill and Weavers Fields in Bethnal Green.

The Green Flag honours parks which are welcoming, well-maintained, safe and have high horticultural and environmental standards. But a crucial aspect looked for by the judges is community involvement.

Paul Todd of the Civic Trust said: "The awards encourage people not only to use their local park but to get involved in its management. The increasing number of winning parks and green spaces highlights the important role they play in bringing people together and improving their quality of life."

The winners were announced today at a ceremony on Bellingham Green in Lewisham, one of this year's success stories. Once a run-down grass patch in the middle of a housing estate, it has been transformed into a community focal point with a sensory garden, picnic area, a chill-out zone for teenagers with a graffiti wall, and space for ball games.

Communities minister Baroness Andrews congratulated the winners, saying: "In our busy modern lives, parks and green spaces are invaluable as areas where young and old can come together to relax, exercise and play."

The winners will be posted online today.

SAFE, WELCOMING, WELL-MAINTAINED

Alexandra Palace Park Hampstead Heath West Ham Park Roundwood Park, Willesden St Martin's Gardens, Camden Town Happy Valley Park, Old Couldson Pymmes Park, Edmonton Railway Fields Local Nature Reserve, Green Lanes, Harringay Harefield Village Green Mile End Park Trinity Square Gardens, Tower Hill Weavers Fields, Bethnal Green Bushy Park, Teddington Greenwich Park Hyde Park Richmond Park St James's Park Regent's Park Paddington Recreation Ground St John's Wood Church Grounds Victoria Embankment Gardens

1.1 parks in London won Green Flags. These were awarded the highest points