Welsh council criticised after pulling out of Green Flag parks scheme
Welsh council criticised after pulling out of Green Flag parks scheme
Vale of Glamorgan Council removed Green Flag park status from all eight parks
Vale of Glamorgan Council parks, like Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, were pulled from the Green Flags parks scheme last year
(Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne )
A Welsh council has been criticised for the way it is looking after its green spaces after it chose not to re-think its decision to withdraw from the Green Flag park status. Vale of Glamorgan was one of the leading areas in Wales for award winning parks before the county council decided in 2024 to withdraw from the scheme in a cost-cutting move.
This year, Vale of Glamorgan Council has continued with its stance on the scheme, with one of the local authority's cabinet members saying parks remain well maintained and continue to "offer excellent amenity value".
Conservative group leader at the council, Cllr George Carroll, said he wasn't surprised with the council's move, calling the Labour administration "out of touch" and criticising the decision to allow an aqua park at Cosmeston Lake this summer. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here.
Vale of Glamorgan Council's leader, Cllr Lis Burnett, said: "We fully recognise how important our parks and green spaces are to our residents and continue to maintain them to a high standard.
"We withdrew from the external scheme last year as we work towards a more sustainable approach with greater use of perennial plants, trees and local species to support local biodiversity.
Article continues below
"Over the coming year we will be talking to local communities about how they want to use 'green and blue spaces', which will guide how we manage parks, open spaces and our coastline.
"We hope as many people as possible will participate."
Vale of Glamorgan Council took the decision to remove Green Flag park status from all eight council parks that had it as part of the 2024/25 budget setting process.
These included:
Alexandra Park, Penarth
Belle Vue Park, Penarth
Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Penarth
Central Park, Barry
Gladstone Gardens, Barry
Knap Gardens, Barry
Porthkerry Country Park, Barry
Romilly Park, Barry
Not being under the scheme meant the council did not have to undertake some of the higher level horticultural tasks required or pay an external organisation to have parks formally accredited.
A council document published in March, 2025 shows that the council saved £140,000 from the decision.
In March 2025 the council voted through a number of other proposals as part of its 2025/26 budget, including reducing street cleansing and removing litter bins, to save £8.77m.
A view of Porthkerry Viaduct from Porthkerry County Park, Vale of Glamorgan
(Image: Jeremy Segrott / Flickr / Creative Commons )
Since then, the council has also looked at opportunities to generate income.
In March, the council announced that it planned to enter into an agreement with Aqua Park Group to pilot an aqua park with inflatable slides and climbing frames at the eastern side of Cosmeston Lake from May 2025 to September 2025.
Thousands of people are opposing the plans. You can read more about that here
Cllr Carroll mentioned this in his response about the council's continuation of its Green Flag park status policy.
He said: "This move is not surprising, given the council's desire to open an aqua park at Cosmeston Lakes.
"These plans are completely unsuitable for this location and have no regard for the natural environment or unique qualities that make Cosmeston so special.
"This out of touch Labour council should be protecting green spaces like Cosmeston, not subjecting them to overdevelopment."
So far, 3,537 have signed a Change.org petition calling for the aqua park not to be installed.
Vale of Glamorgan Council's director of place, Marcus Goldsworthy, said the move presented an opportunity for the council to generate income for improving park facilities at Cosmeston.
He also said a number of conditions will be attached to any licence agreement moving forward to ensure ecologically important areas of the park are protected.
On Green Flag park status concerns, Vale of Glamorgan Council cabinet member for neighbourhood and building services, Cllr Mark Wilson said: 'The decision not to apply for the Green Flag Award was made in 2024, and that decision has remained in place for 2025/26 as part of continuing cost-saving measures, so I am surprised that this matter is being raised now and in response to a recent budget report and not as a result of any concerns with the standards of maintenance in our parks during 2024/25.
'The decision formed a part of the budget proposal for 2024/25, which was subject to public consultation and extensively scrutinised by councillors.
Article continues below
'From April 1st, 2024, we have not undertaken some of the higher-level horticultural tasks required or paid an external organisation to have our parks formally accredited with a Green Flag; though our parks remain well maintained and continue to offer excellent amenity value to our residents and visitors alike, I believe that this is what is most important.
'It is necessary to ensure that we run our services as efficiently as possible, and the decision was made in line with the Council's budget strategy which is to protect education and social care services as a priority and this strategy was supported by the majority of respondents in our most recent budget consultation.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ITV News
24 minutes ago
- ITV News
Reeves to say spending review will reflect ‘priorities of working people'
Rachel Reeves will unveil her spending review on Wednesday, arguing that her priorities are 'the priorities of working people'. The Chancellor is expected to focus on 'Britain's renewal' as she sets out her spending plans for the coming years, with big increases for the NHS, defence and schools. Arguing that the Government is 'renewing Britain', she will acknowledge that 'too many people in too many parts of the country are yet to feel it'. She will say: 'This Government's task – my task – and the purpose of this spending review is to change that, to ensure that renewal is felt in people's everyday lives, their jobs, their communities.' Among the main announcements is expected to be a £30 billion increase in NHS funding, a rise of around 2.8% in real terms, along with an extra £4.5 billion for schools and a rise in defence spending to 2.5% of GDP. But Wednesday could present a tough prospect for other government as the Chancellor seeks to balance Labour's commitments on spending with her fiscal rules. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has already warned that any increase in NHS funding above 2.5% is likely to mean real-terms cuts for other departments, or further tax rises to come in the budget this autumn. This could mean a budgetary squeeze for areas such as local government, the justice system and the Home Office, despite reports that policing would receive an above-inflation settlement. The Chancellor has already insisted that her fiscal rules remain in place, along with Labour's manifesto commitment not to increase income tax, national insurance or VAT. She will say on Wednesday: 'I have made my choices. In place of chaos, I choose stability. In place of decline, I choose investment. In place of retreat, I choose national renewal. 'These are my choices. These are this Government's choices. These are the British people's choices.' Other announcements expected on Wednesday include £39 billion for social and affordable housing over the next decade as the Government aims to meet its target of building 1.5 million new homes by the next election. The Treasury said this would see annual investment in affordable housing rise to £4 billion by 2029/30, almost double the average of £2.3 billion between 2021 and 2026. The additional spending has been welcomed by homelessness charities, with Crisis calling it 'a determined political signal that housing really matters' and Shelter describing the move as 'a watershed moment in tackling the housing emergency'. The Chancellor has also already announced some £15.6 billion of spending on public transport in England's city regions, and £16.7 billion for nuclear power projects, the bulk of which will fund the new Sizewell C plant in Suffolk. There is also expected to be an extension of the £3 bus fare cap until March 2027 and an extra £445 million for upgrading Welsh railways. But one of the big losers from the spending review could be London, which is not expected to receive funding for any significant infrastructure projects or powers to introduce a tourist levy – both key requests from Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan.
Rhyl Journal
29 minutes ago
- Rhyl Journal
Reeves to say spending review will reflect ‘priorities of working people'
The Chancellor is expected to focus on 'Britain's renewal' as she sets out her spending plans for the coming years, with big increases for the NHS, defence and schools. Arguing that the Government is 'renewing Britain', she will acknowledge that 'too many people in too many parts of the country are yet to feel it'. She will say: 'This Government's task – my task – and the purpose of this spending review is to change that, to ensure that renewal is felt in people's everyday lives, their jobs, their communities.' Among the main announcements is expected to be a £30 billion increase in NHS funding, a rise of around 2.8% in real terms, along with an extra £4.5 billion for schools and a rise in defence spending to 2.5% of GDP. But Wednesday could present a tough prospect for other government as the Chancellor seeks to balance Labour's commitments on spending with her fiscal rules. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has already warned that any increase in NHS funding above 2.5% is likely to mean real-terms cuts for other departments, or further tax rises to come in the budget this autumn. This could mean a budgetary squeeze for areas such as local government, the justice system and the Home Office, despite reports that policing would receive an above-inflation settlement. The Chancellor has already insisted that her fiscal rules remain in place, along with Labour's manifesto commitment not to increase income tax, national insurance or VAT. She will say on Wednesday: 'I have made my choices. In place of chaos, I choose stability. In place of decline, I choose investment. In place of retreat, I choose national renewal. 'These are my choices. These are this Government's choices. These are the British people's choices.' Other announcements expected on Wednesday include £39 billion for social and affordable housing over the next decade as the Government aims to meet its target of building 1.5 million new homes by the next election. The Treasury said this would see annual investment in affordable housing rise to £4 billion by 2029/30, almost double the average of £2.3 billion between 2021 and 2026. The additional spending has been welcomed by homelessness charities, with Crisis calling it 'a determined political signal that housing really matters' and Shelter describing the move as 'a watershed moment in tackling the housing emergency'. The Chancellor has also already announced some £15.6 billion of spending on public transport in England's city regions, and £16.7 billion for nuclear power projects, the bulk of which will fund the new Sizewell C plant in Suffolk. There is also expected to be an extension of the £3 bus fare cap until March 2027 and an extra £445 million for upgrading Welsh railways. But one of the big losers from the spending review could be London, which is not expected to receive funding for any significant infrastructure projects or powers to introduce a tourist levy – both key requests from Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan.
Glasgow Times
30 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Starmer and Reynolds meet US commerce secretary in push to implement trade deal
The Prime Minister dropped in on a meeting between Howard Lutnick and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds in Downing Street on Tuesday. Mr Lutnick was in London for talks with China on resolving the trade war between Washington and Beijing, and Mr Reynolds took the opportunity to meet him in person to push for the UK-US trade deal announced last month to be implemented as soon as possible. The meeting follows talks between the Business Secretary and US trade representative Jamieson Greer in Paris last week. Under the terms of the agreement announced by Sir Keir and Donald Trump, the US will implement import quotas that will effectively eliminate tariffs on British steel and cut the levy on vehicles to 10%. But the deal has yet to be implemented and tariffs on both steel and cars remain at 25%, although the UK has been spared the increase on steel duties to 50% that Mr Trump imposed on the rest of the world last week. In a post on social media, Mr Reynolds said he had discussed 'progress on our trade deal – including UK autos and steel' with Mr Lutnick. UK officials remain hopeful that the deal will be implemented soon, but Tuesday's meeting does not appear to have moved the issue beyond both sides agreeing the need to move quickly. Speaking in the Commons last week, Sir Keir said he was 'very confident' that tariffs would come down in line with the deal 'within a very short time'. Implementing the deal will require the UK to pass legislation, likely to involve regulations rather than a full Act of Parliament, while the US will also need to create a legal mechanism to bring steel and vehicle quotas into effect.
