An East Lancashire park has been awarded a prestigious Green Flag status.

Rossendale Council are celebrating after Stubbylee Park in Bacup was given the award, which is the international quality mark for parks and green spaces.

This year marks the scheme's silver jubilee, and after a tough 18 months, that have seen parks and green spaces play a vital role for people through lockdowns, the news that Stubbylee has achieved the Green Flag Award is testament to the hard work and dedication of the council team and volunteers that have made the park a great space that everyone can enjoy.

Stubbylee joins parks and green spaces as diverse as the Lancaster University, Middleton Cemetery and Towneley Park.

Councillor Adrian Lythgoe said: “This is fantastic news. Our outdoor spaces staff and volunteers have been working incredibly hard to achieve Green Flag status for a number of years and I’m really proud of everyone involved that has got us to his point, especially Stubbylee Community Greenhouses and Bacup Pride.

“Stubbylee is a jewel in crown of Rossendale parks, and it’s really spurred us on to capitalise on what we’ve learnt and move towards getting more Green Flag parks in the future.”

The Green Flag Award scheme, managed by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, recognises and rewards well-managed parks and green spaces, setting the benchmark standard for the management of green spaces across the United Kingdom and around the world.

Green Flag Award scheme manager Paul Todd said: “I would like to congratulate everyone involved in making Stubbylee worthy of a Green Flag Award.

“To meet the requirements demanded by the scheme is testament to the hard work of the staff and volunteers who do so much to ensure that Stubbylee has high standards of horticulture, safety and environmental management and is a place that supports people to live healthy lives.”