Lowestoft Town Council’s ‘Love Parks Week” campaign was recognised on a national level at the Keep Britain Tidy local authority Network Awards which took place in Liverpool on Thursday 9^th February 2023.

The ‘Love Parks’ Award recognises the efforts put in by councils and organisations around the UK to celebrate their green spaces during Love Parks Week, which was celebrated in July-August 2022.  Lowestoft Town Council’s online awareness campaign was shortlisted in the final three after hundreds of nominations within its closely contested category, which was eventually won by Southend-On-Sea City Council.

The campaign aimed to highlight a number of parks around Lowestoft, raising awareness of their history and the care taken by Lowestoft Town Council to ensure that the parks can be enjoyed by everyone. Much of the engagement during the campaign fed into the Neighbourhood Development Plan Open Green Spaces document stakeholder consultation which looks to provide protection for the parks and open spaces that the people of Lowestoft cherish in different ways.

Before the awards Councillor Alan Green, Mayor of Lowestoft said: “I am delighted that our Love Parks Week campaign has been recognised on a national level.  As the Town Council, we take great pride in our parks and open spaces across Lowestoft so to see our efforts being publicised nationally is a great achievement that the whole town should be proud of.”

A Keep Britain Tidy spokesperson said “Our Network Awards celebrate the most innovative litter, waste and space solutions developed by local authorities, often with the incredible collaboration and contribution of residents. Our hope is that these fantastic initiatives will inspire others to do the same.”

The Town Council are currently seeking public comments on the draft Neighbourhood Development Plan which includes many parks and open green spaces which are being designated for protection against future development.  The plan can be read online or at the next drop-in session on Tuesday 21^st February, 10am-12noon, with members of the public encouraged to give feedback on the draft policies and if there are any other areas of local green spaces that should be protected.