High quality of parks and green spaces in Three Rivers recognised in Green Flag Awards
Four parks and green spaces across Three Rivers have been awarded Green Flag status in recognition of their high environmental, maintenance and visitor standards.
South Oxhey Playing Fields, which in recent weeks has had new interpretation boards and entry gates installed, was awarded a Green Flag award for the first time.
Chorleywood House Estate, Leavesden Country Park and Rickmansworth Aquadrome all successfully retained their Green Flag status in Three Rivers.
More than 2,000 sites across the country have been awarded Green Flag status in 2020.
The Green Flag Award scheme, managed by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy under licence from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, recognises and rewards well-managed parks and green spaces, setting the benchmark standard for their management across the United Kingdom and around the world.
Community project set in stone
A community artwork which grew out of the imaginations of local children has been literally set in stone for all to enjoy in years to come.
The COVID-19 ‘Snake’ is made up of over 1,300 painted stones and pebbles laid by the children of Abbots Langley and Leavesden. The first seven stones were left on 20 May by local resident Becky and her daughters Freya (5) and Daisy (8) along the edge of a path leading from the Woodlands Cafe in the park. Their idea quickly caught on, with hundreds more children adding their imaginatively painted stones along the path. The stones were decorated with imageries depicting NHS rainbows and words of thanks, flora and fauna, football clubs and more.
Cllr Sara Bedford, wanted to see the stones retained within the park as a memory of the pandemic and so that everyone could see how the community had reacted during these difficult times. After a site visit with some of Three Rivers’ leisure team and a conversation with the Robinson family, a plan to get the stones in place quickly was put into action. The stones were gathered in and varnished to weatherproof them.
The snake was constructed on Thursday 25 June, with the council’s team supported by Bruce Lovelock and his colleagues from The School Renovation Company Ltd. who are responsible for much of the work in the park. A trench was dug alongside the path and the stones placed in a fast setting concrete. The final stones, a rainbow-coloured tail, were laid by Daisy and Freya, who are both pupils at Tanners Wood School.
Now that the snake has found its permanent home and is fully grown, Three Rivers is suggesting that children can join the ‘Abbots Langley Rocks’ project, hiding their special stones in the park for others to find and admire, then hide again.
Leavesden Country Park wins again
Three Rivers District Council’s Leavesden Country Park has won the “Small Visitor Attraction of the Year” at the Hertfordshire Tourism Awards 2019. The Country Park had already secured the Herts Sports Partnership Award for “Professional Community Project of the Year”.
The park was officially opened in July 2019, after a £1.2 million investment of heritage, environment, arts and community facilities, funded by the Council, the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden.
This award recognises the value of tourism in the county and its importance in improving people’s quality of life and for the economy. The awards were devised and launched in 2017 by destination specialists Go To Places - who deliver Visit Herts to reward exceptional standards of customer service and outstanding visitor experiences within the local tourism industry.
Visit Herts celebrated ten tourism categories including Large Visitor Attraction of the Year, won by Warner Bros. Studio Tour London and Large Hotel of the Year, won by The Grove.
Of particular note, the award included an unannounced visit from a mystery shopper who came to experience the park for a day. Their delight was evident and the presenter noted that the Heritage Trail was very interesting and informative, the play area innovative and a bright warm café welcomed them. Winning this category now takes the park automatically to compete in Visit England’s National Awards for Excellence in June 2020.
Leavesden Country park community activities programme wins professional community project of the year!
In an impressive award ceremony, Hertfordshire Community projects, sports clubs, coaches and volunteers were all recognised at the 16th annual Hertfordshire Service to Sport Awards hosted by the Herts Sports Partnership on 19 November 2019.
Against a field of eleven strong projects, Three Rivers District Council were announced as winners in the Professional Community Project of the Year category for the Leavesden Country Park Community Activities Programme. This award recognises professional organisations who have made a significant impact on community life, wellbeing, sport and health. The activities programme, as a result of the National Lottery project at the park has resulted in a huge increase in people visiting and enjoying the green space.
The community activities programme, which is unique and bespoke to the park, is engaging vulnerable hard-to-reach groups in various activities and workshops with groups such as Young Carers, older adults, disability groups, new mums and young people all benefitting from the diverse and varied programme.
The Park has become a happy place to visit, to exercise in and enjoy. It has become a destination place for all different members of the community and is making a difference to people’s health and well-being.
Success in the park - shortlisted for national award!
Leavesden Country Park has been shortlisted for the prestigious Local Government Chronicle Awards 2020. The park, which is owned and run by Three Rivers District Council, was officially opened in July this year, after a £1 million programme of heritage, environment, arts and community facilities, funded by the Council, the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden.
The LGC awards are the biggest celebration of excellence in local government and celebrate the teams and individuals making the greatest difference to their communities. The Leavesden County Park National Lottery Heritage project has been shortlisted under the Community Involvement category. This year has seen a record 700 entries to the awards and so to be shortlisted is an outstanding achievement by Three Rivers.
The awards recognise the innovative nature of the project, which had extensive community involvement. This resulted in a much-used Heritage Trail with interpretation boards, the Leavesden HIVE, a heritage and environment education centre, extensive restoration works, the presence of a full time Park Ranger and the many park activities.
Following the shortlisting announcement, Council officers will make a further presentation to a panel of judges to demonstrate the impact, value and community involvement in the park. The results will be announced on 28 October 2020.
