Hilbre Islands Nature Reserve and Landican Cemetery have been named as Green Heritage Sites for the first time as Wirral cements its position as the ‘Best in the North West’ at this year’s Green Flag awards.
Those two places join Wirral Country Park and Birkenhead Park as in the Green Heritage category, which recognises the management and promotion of historic features in those locations.
They are also once again among the record-breaking 37 Green Flags awarded in 2025 to Wirral parks and gardens – more than 13% of all the Green Flag award winners in the region are Wirral ones.
The Green Flag is the international quality mark for parks and green spaces and is awarded as testament to the hard work and dedication of the team that care for the green space so that visitors and residents alike can enjoy it.
Wirral’s 37 Green Flag awards increases the number of awards achieved by two from last year’s 35, with all those accredited last year maintaining their status this year.
New Ferry Butterfly Park and Woodchurch Holy Cross – managed by Cheshire Wildlife Trust and Holy Cross PCC, Woodchurch respectively – also achieved Green Flag Community Awards once again.
Cllr Liz Grey, Chair of the Environment, Climate Emergency and Transport Committee for Wirral Council, said:
“While not everyone appreciates our efforts to protect and support nature here in Wirral, it is clear that an increasing number of people do – including the judges of the Green Flag awards. They can see that not only do we have a significant number and wide variety of parks and open spaces across our borough, they are also incredibly well-managed and maintained.
“I would like to extend my thanks and offer my congratulations to all those involved in maintaining this achievement from one year to the next. And well done to those involved as Hilbre Islands Nature Reserve and Landican Cemetery for gaining recognition for their historic and cultural importance.
“There isn’t another area in the North West that comes close to having so many Green Flag accredited parks and these prestigious awards really celebrate the continual work and effort put in by those who look after these recognised sites.
“It is the work of our Friends groups, volunteers and council staff that make awards like this possible but that also help to keep our parks and green spaces a wonderful and welcoming place for residents and all those that want to visit them.”
Congratulating this year’s winners, Keep Britain Tidy’s Chief Executive, Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, said:
“We are thrilled to see that an incredible 274 sites in the North West have met the standards required for a Green Flag Award, reflecting the tireless work of the people tasked with caring for and improving these crucial national assets.
“Our quality parks and green spaces make the UK a heathier place in which to live and work, and a stronger place in which to invest. Through the Green Flag Award and our campaigning as a charity, we will continue to advocate for good quality green infrastructure that maximises benefits for people and nature, whether that’s through exercise and wellbeing, or playing a part in helping us mitigate and adapt to some of the effects of our changing climate.
“The Green Flag Award sets the standard for caring for these sites amid growing recognition that our green spaces can be part of the climate solution.
“We know that the plants and trees in parks help to mitigate the harmful carbon emissions that are driving climate change. They act as cooling havens as we face hotter, drier summers and play an important part in climate change adaptation and mitigation, including helping to reduce incidences of flooding.”
The Green Flag Award scheme is managed by Keep Britain Tidy under licence from the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, setting the benchmark standard for the management of recreational outdoor spaces across the United Kingdom and around the world.
The Wirral winners for 2025 are:-
Green Flag parks
- Ashton Park
- Bidston Hill
- Birkenhead Park
- Brotherton Park and Dibbinsdale Local Nature Reserve
- Central Park (Wirral)
- Coronation Gardens
- Dawstone Park
- Eastham Country Park
- Flaybrick Memorial Gardens
- Frankby Cemetery
- Hamilton Square
- Harrison Park (Wirral)
- Heswall Dales
- Hilbre Island Local Nature Reserve
- Landican Cemetery
- Mayer Park
- Meols Parade Gardens
- North Wirral Coastal Park
- Queen’s Park (Wirral)
- Rake Lane Cemetery
- Royden Park
- The Arno
- The Breck
- Thornton Hough Village Green
- Torr Park, Eastham
- Vale Park
- Victoria Gardens (West Kirby)
- Victoria Park
- Walker Park
- Warwick Park
- Wirral Country Park
Green Heritage Site Accreditation
- Birkenhead Park
- Wirral Country Park
- Hilbre Island Nature Reserve
- Landican Cemetery
Green Flag Community Awards
- New Ferry Butterfly Park (Cheshire Wildlife Trust)
- Woodchurch Holy Cross (Holy Cross, Woodchurch PCC)
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