By james art Lewisham was rated as the best performing borough of London for its park service from a top charity.
Pupils from Downderry Primary School joined Lewisham Mayor Brenda Dacres, Deputy Mayor Louise Krupski, local MPs, ward councilors and residents at Beckenham Place Park on Friday to celebrate the good news.
Cllr Louise Krupski, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport and Climate Action said: “We love our green spaces in Lewisham and I value them very highly. Many of our residents live in apartments and need access to decent parks and nature reserves, so we work very hard to make our parks the best they can be.
“Our valued staff are integral to this result.”
The Good Parks for London 2024 report, produced by Parks for London, is based on a rigorous assessment of how the council’s park services are performing.
Lewisham, which has 47 parks and 15 nature reserves managed by Lewisham Council and service provider Glendale, passed all 10 criteria points with distinction. The criteria assess factors including quality standards, events, nature support and community engagement.
Lewisham was also praised for significantly improving its overall score from a previous assessment in 2022.
The second and third highest scoring areas were Hackney and Lambeth.
Mayor Dacres said: “We are so proud of our fantastic parks team, our excellent partners Glendale and all our amazing volunteers and friends groups in our borough who work so hard to ensure our parks and nature reserves are so special .
“Their commitment and passion to protect excellence in our green spaces for our residents is truly outstanding and we truly appreciate all they do.”
The Good Parks for London report aims to promote good practice, raise quality standards and help lobby to protect parks budgets and resources.
Titled Collaborative Solutions, the 2024 report includes nine case studies to highlight the crucial role of partnership working.
Ed Stannard, chief executive of Parks for London, said: “While I hope the report will inspire and entertain, its real value lies in the way it drives incremental improvements in London’s park management, supports strategic planning and helps to provide the resources needed to protect and enhance our valued green spaces for future generations.”
Lewisham recently won three Gold Awards for Parks and Conservation Areas at the London in Bloom 2024 Awards.
The neighborhood’s parks and green spaces successfully retained all 23 Green Flags this year, the awards given to the best green spaces in the world.
Beckenham Place Park has also been awarded the prestigious Green Heritage Site accreditation, supported by Historic England.
Find out more about Lewisham’s parks and open spaces and nature reserves here.
In the photo above: Pupils from Downderry Primary School joined the Mayor of Lewisham, Brenda Dacres, Deputy Mayor, Louise Krupski, local MPs, ward councilors and residents at Beckenham Place Park on Friday (Image: Lewisham Council)