Duthie Park in final three for "UK's Best Park"
Aberdeen's Duthie Park is down to the last three to be named the UK's Best Park.
Duthie Park in Aberdeen is one of three parks from across the UK to be shortlisted following a nationwide search by national charity, Fields in Trust, to find a green space worthy of claiming the title of ‘UK’s Best Park’.
A total of 122 UK parks were nominated and over eight thousand public votes were cast.
The ‘UK’s Best Park’ award forms part of the charity’s annual awards ceremony which takes place in London on Wednesday 2nd December and celebrates the great work being done in parks and play grounds across the UK.
Eleven awards will be handed out on the night, with this being the first year that the ceremony has featured a category voted entirely by the public.
Duthie Park in Aberdeen, which is owned by Aberdeen City Council, was nominated by Aberdeen-based parenting blogger, Lifewithmunchers.com as: “Not only is it host to regular events for the city, but as the home of the Winter gardens, boating pond, vast green areas and the most outstanding kids’ play areas, this park is a great all-rounder for a family day out”.
The two other parks who made the shortlist for the award are Gheluvelt Park in Worcester which has been nominated because of its interactive water feature, play area and gardens, and Telford Town Park in Telford because of its sensory garden and fantastic mix of biodiversity
Helen Griffiths, Fields in Trust Chief Executive said: “Our annual awards celebrate the contributions and achievements of people and organisations who are passionate about green spaces and we thought what better way to reflect this than to have an award category voted by the public.
“We have been overwhelmed by the response we have received to the ‘UK’s Best Park’ award, both with the number of nominations we received and the number of votes cast. What it tells us is that people really do care about their local parks and they are passionate about what they are used for. This was also reflected in some recent research we carried out which revealed that 95% of people believe that parks and play areas should be protected from development.”
The Fields in Trust awards ceremony will see no less than eleven awards handed out on the evening, with categories including, Fields in Trust Community Champion which celebrates advocates of green spaces across the UK, as well as Best Play Initiative to reward those who have encouraged more play and increase usage of a site.
Helen, continued: “We wish Duthie Park the very best of luck on Wednesday!”