Margate's The Oval wins Green Flag Award status
He added: "Crucially, The Oval is a vital green space for the community in Margate to enjoy nature, and during the ongoing cost of living crisis, it is a free and safe space for families to socialise."The Green Flag Community Award celebrates green spaces that are managed by voluntary and community groups.The Oval receives no local authority funding and is run by Grass Cliftonville CIC.Director Stephen Darrer said: "We manage everything from dog waste disposal to mowing the lawns and trimming the hedges – all without any council provision."We are based in one of the UK's most deprived areas, so for a site like ours to receive this level of national recognition is truly extraordinary."The judging panel praised The Oval's transformation since 2021, highlighting its welcoming atmosphere, accessibility improvements, sustainability focus and its innovative community-led programmes.
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The Guardian
5 hours ago
- The Guardian
Neolithic long cairn in Yorkshire given extra protection after walkers remove stones
A rare and remarkable 5,000-year-old monument that is an example of one of the earliest visible structures in England is to receive extra protection because walkers, sometimes innocently, have been removing and moving stones. The Dudderhouse Hill long cairn in the Yorkshire Dales has been granted 'scheduled monument' status by the government, making it a site of national importance with greater legal protection. The long cairn is remarkable in many ways and helps us understand the lives, deaths and beliefs of the first farming communities, said Paul Jeffery, the national listings manager at Historic England, which has advised the government. 'This time was the beginning of everything.' To the untrained eye Dudderhouse Hill may look like a large pile of stones in the middle of nowhere and that helps explain the often unintentional damage, said Jeffery. The long cairn, near the village of Austwick in North Yorkshire, dates from about 3,400-2,400BC and is one of the oldest visible reminders of our prehistoric past. It is thought to be one of the first structures communally constructed by humans. Jeffery said: 'The fact it has survived at all demonstrates how well constructed it was and how monumental in the landscape back in its time.' The long cairn, which was built by a Neolithic farming community who were the successors to hunter-gatherers and lived in caves and stone huts, may have had a number of purposes. One of those was funerary, as a 'home for the dead', although not for whole bodies. Evidence suggests the deceased were left to the birds and elements before body parts were ritualistically interred in the monument. Long cairns may also have been positioned, like Stonehenge, to help communities know when seasons started and ended. Another function of the long cairn was to say 'this is our land', said Jeffery. 'Building a structure like that would have taken a lot of people a significant amount of time. They would have had to be fed by others, there would have been specialist stonemasons and engineers – a lot of effort would have been invested into those structures. They are a statement of 'this is us', 'we are here'.' Research suggests the long cairn was used as an animal pen in the 16th century and in more recent years has been damaged by people removing and moving stones, sometimes innocently to create way markers for walkers. 'The problem is this causes sustained and considerable damage over time,' said Jeffery. 'People might only be taking one stone and don't realise the harm they're doing. If it was left unchecked, eventually the evidence for its existence would be lost completely.' Scheduled monument status means the long cairn will receive the highest level of protection available and means the national park authority can carry out a project to educate people about the site's importance. Duncan Wilson, the chief executive of Historic England, said: 'Scheduling this remarkable neolithic long cairn ensures that this rare and fragile piece of our prehistoric heritage receives the protection it deserves.'
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Western Telegraph
8 hours ago
- Western Telegraph
Allen's View, Tenby celebrates 60th birthday and Keep Wales Tidy award
Allen's View, on Tenby's North Cliff, was bequeathed to the community by the late Miss Jessie Allen. It is now 60 years since Miss Allen made the generous gesture to enable the public to enjoy 'a paradise of tranquillity overlooking the busy town of Tenby and beyond'. The viewpoint's guardians, Tenby Civic Society, have now held a small ceremony to mark the 60th birthday of Allen's View – and also the area's achievement in receiving a Keep Wales Tidy green space award. Tenby Ciic Society vice-chair, Harry Gardiner and the mayor of Tenby, Cllr Dai Morgan, are pictured with the Green Flag awarded to Allen's View. (Image: Gareth Davies Photography) Tenby Civic Society's vice-chairman, Harry Gardiner, said: 'It is fitting that in its 60th year of public access, Allen's View has met the wide environmental requirements of Keep Wales Tidy's Green Flag Community Award. "Allen's View is a hilltop woodland viewpoint, a short walk along the coast path north from Tenby and has views north and south from the hill crest by Bowman's Point. "Several paths lead through the mix of native and planted trees, bushes, plants and flowers in a variety of habitats. "Glades include benches, picnic tables, litter bins, substantial wood carvings of birds and two recent groups of Welsh apple trees. "Two groups of a dozen tall Monterey trees stand out on the skyline north of Tenby." Tenby's mayor, Dai Morgan, joined Tenby Civic Society's chair, Chris Osborne (left) vice-chair, Harry Gardiner (right) and members Neil Westerman, Tony Evans and Richard Reed for the celebrations. (Image: Gareth Davies Photography) Tenby Civic Society manage the site, which was gifted in 1965 by Miss Jessie Allen, who then lived at the adjoining property, Clovers. Added Mr Gardiner: "Over 60 years, several generations of committee members and volunteers have maintained Allen's View. "The site has a quiet character that well suits access being only on foot for walkers along the coast path, maintaining its original dedication by Miss Allen 'for the quiet enjoyment of the public'. Keep Wales Tidy's Green Flag co-ordinator, Lucy Frisk, said: "We are thrilled to see a new record of 223 community managed green spaces in Wales have achieved Green Flag Status; testament to the dedication and hard work of hundreds of volunteers. "These sites play a vital role in the physical and mental well being of communities across Wales. ' A full list of award winners can be found on the Keep Wales Tidy website, linked above.
