Mewsbrook Park wins award

The park, in Hendon Avenue behind Littlehampton Swimming Centre, is one of only 25 in the south-east to recieve the award and one of only 322 winners in England and Wales.

Boasting a boating lake, duck pond, miniature railway and beautifully manicured lawns and flower beds, it is no wonder that the park, created in the 1930s, has been voted a winner.

The Green Flag scheme is a key component of the government's commitment to create cleaner, safer, green communities and is managed by the Civic Trust, a charity concerned with urban renaissance.

Winning sites must be judged to be welcoming, safe and well maintained, with strong involvement of the local community.

Any green space in England and Wales that is freely accessible to the public is eligible to enter.

Winning entries include town parks, nature reserves, country parks and even cemeteries.

Contenders are judged in May and June each year and the winners can fly their green flag until July the following year, before another judging.

A culmination of hard work and co-operation by staff in Arun's parks and landscape department, ISS Waterers, who are responsible for the park's maintenance, the Mewsbrook Park committee group and Littlehampton Town Council, helped Mewsbrook gain the award.

Hannah Reid, community parks officer and co-ordinator of the Mewsbrook Park Green Flag entry, said: "Achieving the Green Flag award for Mewsbrook is a huge success for everyone involved and it shows what happens when a community works together.

"Our aim is to maintain the high standards within the park but also to develop and improve community involvement and events.

"Now we have one Green Flag, we are looking at putting a couple more parks in for the award over the next few years."