Spectacular Stanmer picks up top green award
August 15, 2022
A key gateway to the South Downs has been officially recognised as one of the UK’s best parks.
Stanmer Park, on the outskirts of Brighton, has been awarded a prestigious Green Flag.
The park was entered for the national award for the first time since a major £5.1m restoration project was completed last year.
The project was funded from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the City Council, Plumpton College and the National Park Authority.
Stanmer’s restored walled garden has been given a new lease of life thanks to the renovations. Formerly the kitchen garden for the park’s iconic Stanmer House, and until recently the city council’s nursery, it is now leased to Plumpton College, which has transformed the area into an exciting new public attraction, One Garden Brighton.
Visitors can wander among themed garden areas designed by landscape architect Dominic Cole, who worked on the Eden Project, and browse in the farm shop and glasshouses. Interpretation boards exploring some of the historic themes that have shaped Stanmer life for more than 5,000 years are being installed, along with wind-up “listening posts” where visitors will be able to listen volunteers recount their park memories.
New pathways and trails, plus an off-road route alongside the central driveway, give visitors a fresh perspective on the park’s sweeping 18th Century designed landscape.
Paul Todd, Keep Britain Tidy’s Accreditation Manager, added: “This award is testament to all the hard work of staff and volunteers, who do so much to ensure that it maintains the high standards demanded by the Green Flag Award.”
Queen Elizabeth Country Park, near Petersfield, also won a Green Flag. With over 1,400 acres of woodland and downland, it includes the picturesque Butser Hill, the highest point in the South Downs chalk ridge.
