Manchester's first park in 100 years is officially 'world class'

Manchester’s Mayfield Park has received a prestigious Green Flag Award with judges declaring they had “never seen such an outstanding urban park in 20+ years of judging”. It's the first Green Flag Award for the city-centre park, and its eight industry award since it opened in September 2022.

Mayfield Park was the city’s first new park in 100 years and the award acknowledges its exceptional design and management. Currently covering an area of 6.5acres, the park will eventually double in size as part of a whole new city district over the coming years.

Since opening, Mayfield Park has been celebrated as ‘an inspiring benchmark for the park of the future’ by respected horticulturist Nigel Dunnett and applauded for challenging the perception of what a modern urban park can be. Among the eight national and international awards it has received this year are accolades for excellence in landscape design, place regeneration and the natural environment.

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Established in the UK over 25 years ago by the environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, the Green Flag Award, celebrates the achievements of parks and green spaces in 17 countries across the world including Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Turkey.

On announcing the Award, the Green Flag Award judges said:“In our 20+ years of judging we have never seen such an outstanding urban park. The original design and specification standards are exceptional, the facilities are of the highest standard and the site security and cleansing is excellent.

“The play facilities are inspired and exciting, the horticultural and arboricultural standards are