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Tullyvallen Fold in Newtownhamilton, have been recognised for the high standards of their communal garden spaces with the award of Green Flag status by Keep NI Beautiful - the first time a development ran by a NI housing association has been awarded this status.
The Green Flag Award is the international benchmark for publicly accessible parks and green spaces in the United Kingdom and around the world, and is managed by Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful (KNIB)
To be eligible community green spaces must be accessible to the public and must be maintained to a high standard as set out by KNIB. Traditionally the award has been made to parks, community gardens, woodland and nature reserves.
This is the first time that a housing association has sought Green Flag status, and a total of four Radius Housing schemes were awarded; Tullyvallen Fold in Newtownhamilton, Rathain Fold in Coleraine, Maine Fold in Randalstown, and Tullaghmurray Fold in Portstewart, were awarded their Green Flags at a special ceremony in Brownlow House.
Speaking after the award ceremony Melanie Rintoul from Radius Housing said “Having welcoming, well-kept green spaces around our housing schemes is something that we believe is extremely important. It does not only improve how the area looks, it has an important social role and a positive impact on our wellbeing, as well as raising our environmental standards.
“Often we find that it is groups of tenants who are the driving force behind these projects, and they help create strong and proud local communities. Green Flag status is important as it ensures that the standards, accessibility and general upkeep of the area are extremely high and this should not be limited to the traditional spaces we associate such awards with. We are delighted that four of our housing schemes have been recognised with Green Flags, and we hope that we can raise the standards across all green space and build more welcoming communities with more Green flags in the future.”
Jean Dawson, Scheme Co-Ordinator at Tullyvallen Fold added “The green spaces and gardens at Tullyvallen Fold are really important to all our tenants, and are a regular meeting place for social events, family and friend visits and just for relaxing. More and more we have seen them become a visiting space for neighbours and the wider community, and we all want to work hard to ensure that everyone is able to enjoy the most welcoming space possible.”
