One of Craigavon Borough Council's premier parks is applying for the prestigious Green Flag award and is only one of three in Ireland to do so.

Lurgan Park has been invited to apply for the Green Flag which is the national standards for parks and green spaces. Run and judged by the UK-based Civic Trust, the park has to meet strict criteria, mostly based on the environmental aspects of the park, before acquiring the national accolade.

The award scheme began in 1996 as a means of recognising and rewarding the best green spaces in the country and is being extended now into Ireland for the first time.

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Officers had to submit a written application form which was followed by a visit by two judges who toured the park asking relevant questions.

"Obtaining Green Flag status brings prestige and publicity for a park and if we are successful we’ll be the first in Ireland to do so," said Leanne McShane, Lurgan Park Development Officer. "We were judged on Saturday and you literally could not have picked a better day. The weather was glorious and the park looked fabulous - we were very busy."

The criteria includes: a welcoming place, conservation and heritage, community involvement, marketing and management, safety and security, sustainability and the space must be clean and well maintained.

The results of the application and audit will be known in July 2008.

(JM/NS)