A total of 15 open spaces owned and managed by the City of London Corporation have scooped Green Flag and Green Heritage Site awards.

In addition to this, the City Corporation won three out of seven national Innovation awards.

Bunhill Fields, which is just outside the Square Mile's border in Islington and has been managed by the City Corporation for over 140 years, has won a Green Flag for the first time. All of the other 14 sites have won Green Flags previously.

In the Innovation awards Burnham Beeches won in the Marketing category, Hampstead Heath for Community Engagement and Queen’s Park for Sustainability.

Two of the City's open spaces – Hampstead Heath and West Ham Park – were awarded Green Heritage Site status for the first time.

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Five other City-owned open spaces – Epping Forest, Ashtead Common, Burnham Beeches, Highgate Wood and the City of London Cemetery and Crematorium – retained their heritage status (there are only 46 Green Heritage Sites across the country) which distinguishes them as sites of historical significance that provide visitors with effective information about the park’s past.

Sue Ireland, Director of Open Spaces at City of London Corporation, said:"We are absolutely delighted that the City of London’s green spaces have once again been recognised as some of the best run and well loved open spaces in the country. This is thanks to the tremendous effort of staff and volunteers who work throughout the year.

"It is extremely good news for us that three of our sites won the prestigious special innovation awards. The addition of two new City of London Green Heritage Awards reinforces the City of London’s commitment to open space preservation and its role of stewardship across Greater London."

The Green Flag Award scheme recognises the value of green spaces to communities, and recognises staff and managing organisations that are dedicated to providing excellent green spaces for the community.

(GK/KMcA)