Did you know? All about our parks and greenspaces | Latest news

Have you visited our lovely parks in the district recently? You may go to a particular local one regularly with your family and furry friends, but don’t forget we have several lovely parks in our district for you to explore – how lucky are we? And it’s free! Before the children go back to school, what better time is there to see what else is on offer our district?

Many of our parks are award winning, with ‘green flag’ status. The aim of the green flag award is to ensure that everyone has access to a quality green space and to enable them to live more healthy lifestyles. Our community parks team, together with our contractors, Tivoli Lifestyle and our amazing volunteers put in so much work to make these outdoor spaces a great place to visit. To achieve and maintain these awards, we must meet several criterion, the main one being to make the park welcoming to visitors, for it to have good and safe access, adequate signage and most importantly it offers equal access to all. Read more here:

Six Arun parks retain their Green Flags | Latest news | Arun District Council

Green Flag Award - Green Flag Award

Why are green spaces important?

• Children having a safe space to run around, use play equioment and enjoy games together, without worrying about traffic.They learn to explore nature and to be more independent with the freedom of outdoor play.
• Getting out and about in a green space can improve health and fitness, both mentally and physically. A good amount of exercise helps prevent obesity.Regular use of a green space is associated 43% lower risk of poor general health and 40% are less likely to be overweight or obese.
• Green spaces absorb carbon dioxide, cool overheated urban areas*, reduce flood risk and provide multiple benefits to public health.
• Green areas and forests absorb greenhouse gases, helping to stabilize the climate and are key to helping tackle climate change.

All our wonderful parks can be found here: Our parks | Arun District Council

*Urban heat occurs when a city or built-up area experiences much warmer temperatures than rural areas. It is to do with how well the surfaces in each environment absorb and hold heat and is a result of human activity.