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Wirral wins plaudits after
parks conference
WIRRAL last week hosted the World Urban
Parks European Congress 2017, which saw delegates from across the world come
together to share good practice and ideas covering the themes of heritage,
sustainability and community in our parks and open spaces.
Wirral Council leader Cllr Phil Davies opened the conference and was a regular
visitor to seminars and workshops throughout the week. He said that he believes
delegates will take away from their week a very good impression of the borough
and the wider region.
Cllr Davies said:- "A number of delegates told me how incredibly lucky we
are to have such an amazing mix of parks, coast and countryside within such a
small area. They were also impressed by the partnership that exists between our
local communities and parks professionals.
I'm sure they took away from their time in Wirral a sense of an area which has
great pride in its environment and in its people."
The congress concluded with an awards ceremony at the
Floral Pavilion Theatre in New Brighton. And Wirral was once again a winner with
the gathered crowds. Birkenhead Park was awarded the first Large Urban Park Gold
Standard award from the World Urban Parks organisation.
Dr Mary Worrall, Senior Manager in Wirral Council's Parks, Coast and Countryside
team, was also bestowed with the honour of becoming a Certified Park
Professional International (CPPI), the highest award given by the World Parks
Academy.
Mary said:- "It is a great honour to be awarded the CPPI certificate.
Learning about good practice from around the world has been very inspiring and I
am sure this learning will be beneficial in my work helping to care for parks
here in the UK."
Finally, congress signed a statement in support of Birkenhead Park being put
forward for inclusion on the tentative list for World Heritage Status.
Cllr Davies added:- "It was clear all week that Birkenhead Park is one of
the most significant and inspirational parks anywhere in the world and the
statement of support for a possible World Heritage Status bid was an amazing way
to end a fantastic week promoting Wirral to parks professionals from around the
world."
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