Pannett Park in Whitby has been awarded a Green Flag for a 17th time and given a green heritage site accreditation, the town has confirmed. The twin recognitions recognise the park’s condition, management and the way it conserves its historic landscape.
What the awards recognise
The Green Flag award is an international benchmark for parks and green spaces, indicating they are safe, welcoming and well managed. The green heritage site accreditation is an additional appraisal that looks specifically at how a site preserves and promotes its historical and cultural features.
- Green Flag: awarded to Pannett Park for the 17th time.
- Green heritage site accreditation: granted after an extra evaluation of the park’s historic and cultural landscape.
- Management: the park and its buildings are owned and managed by Whitby Town Council, which acts as the sole trustee of the charitable trust that runs the Pannett Art Gallery.
Since the park was bequeathed to the people of Whitby by Alderman Robert Pannett, it has been a central green space in the town. The awards underline both the ongoing maintenance work and the role of community volunteers in caring for the park.
“I’m absolutely delighted that Pannett Park has been awarded the Green Flag award again this year. Our park always looks absolutely beautiful, this is all down to the staff and Friends of Pannett Park (FPP). Without the support of the friends group this would be a much more difficult task to achieve. Thank you to everyone, well done.” — Coun Sandra Turner
The chair of the Friends of Pannett Park also highlighted partnership working. In comments released with the award notice, he described it as a privilege to have worked alongside the park gardeners to maintain an unbroken chain of Green Flags since 2010 and to help create a valued public space for the town.
Local implications
For Whitby residents the recognitions mean continued emphasis on standards for maintenance, visitor safety and conservation of the park’s heritage features. They also reflect the ongoing involvement of the volunteer Friends group and the town’s municipal staff, whose cooperation the town highlighted in its statement.
| Item | Status |
|---|---|
| Green Flag awards | 17th time |
| Green heritage accreditation | Granted |
| Ownership/management | Whitby Town Council (trustee of Pannett Art Gallery trust) |
The recognition may support future funding and promotional efforts for the park and the gallery trust. It also offers reassurance to residents and visitors that Pannett Park will continue to be managed to national and international standards for public green space.
