Rouken Glen Park named UK's favourite local green space
An East Renfrewshire park has been named the best in the UK.
An East Renfrewshire park has been named the best in the UK.
Rouken Glen Park was awarded the title after a search by national charity Fields in Trust to find the country's favourite local green space.
With more than 214 parks to choose from, voters had three weeks to pick their favourite and more than 10,000 people took part.
In its nomination, Rouken Glen was described as "a place for people and nature".
The park, which opened in 1906, is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest, has been awarded Green Flag status, and benefited from a recent £3 million transformation.
Vincent Waters, East Renfrewshire Council's convener for environment, said: "Rouken Glen Park is a special place to many people in East Renfrewshire and beyond. It is the heart of the community in Giffnock, and visitor numbers reached nearly 1,000,000 last year."
The award was presented by former international footballer, and trustee of Fields in Trust, Graeme Le Saux and TV sports broadcaster Jill Douglas during a ceremony at Lord's Cricket Ground in central London.
On collecting the award, East Renfrewshire Council parks manager Donnie McManus said: "We would like to thank everyone who voted for the park. Also a big thank-you to all the staff who work tirelessly keeping the park up to a very high standard. This award shows that the public of East Renfrewshire and the many visitors to the park hold it in such high esteem."
Helen Griffiths, Fields in Trust chief executive, said: "Many congratulations to Rouken Glen Park on being named the winner of the UK's best park award. It's a beautiful green space and well deserving of the accolade.
"The number of parks nominated this year and the votes cast across the competition show just how much the public cherish their local green spaces."