PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
GREEN FLAG AWARDS IN EDINBURGH (18 July 2018)

That this House congratulates Edinburgh for winning more than 45 per cent of Scotland's Green Flag awards in recognition of the city's outstanding quality of green spaces; recognises that the Green Flag award is the ultimate benchmark for green spaces and that of 71 across Scotland, 33 were in Edinburgh; thanks the environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful for administrating the awards and welcomes the work that it does to improve and protect Scotland's environment; pays tribute to the many volunteers and staff who work hard all year round to help make our parks such attractive places to visit; further recognises the importance to communities of having access to excellent green spaces because of the valuable physical and mental health benefits to people of all ages; notes that communities rely on having access to beautiful green spaces that are safe, inviting and free to use as they provide places for children to play and families to spend time together; understands that 90 per cent of urban Scots in a recent survey noted that it was important to them to have greenspace in their community and so it is imperative that everyone has the opportunity to access high quality green space, regardless of where they live; and hopes that for all these reasons Scotland will not only maintain the quality of these parks going forward but will attain even more Green Flag awards in the future.

Sponsored by:
Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat)