Staff at Brooke Park in L'Derry have been heaped with praise after the leisure destination was named in Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful's Green Flag Award list for 2021.

The Green Flag is a worldwide award to recognise publicly accessible parks and green spaces that meet strict, benchmarked criteria including maintenance, sustainability, safety and community involvement.

A total of 84 parks and open spaces have been recognised with a Green Flag Award for 2021, including four new Green Flag Awards, one new Community Award and one new Green Flag Heritage Award.

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This recognition marked the fifth successive year Brooke Park received the award following its extensive £5.6m regeneration in 2016.

Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Alderman Graham Warke, welcomed the award and praised the team for keeping Brooke Park one of Northern Ireland's best-run parks.

"Brooke Park is a real gem in the heart of the City and it has been maintained resplendently over the last five years for everyone to enjoy," he said.

"During the lockdown restrictions it was a place where people could visit to relax and enjoy the outdoors and children enjoyed the state of the art play facilities in a safe environment.

"Congratulations to Council's Parks Team for all their hard work in ensuring the park met the criteria for the green flag which I'm sure will highlight the park's offering to new visitors this year."