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• Perseverance pays off to secure a Green Flag Award

• Date:

  30th June 2008

• Contact:

  Sarah Egerton

• Organisation:

  The Civic Trust

Lillington and Longmoore Gardens, in Westminster, has persevered along a learning curve to become the first social housing estate in the Green Flag Award scheme.

For five years the estate was managed by a Tenants Management Organisation (TMO) . The grounds maintenance was brought in house, and during this time the improved gardens started to win awards:  London in Bloom; second place in Britain in Bloom and 1st place in Westminster in Bloom.

The management felt it was a natural progression to apply for a Green Pennant Award when the scheme was launched in 2002 and the TMO was successful in its application.

CityWest Homes took over management of the estate in 2002, and as a local authority controlled company of City of Westminster, the estate was no longer able to continue with its involvement in the Green Pennant Awrad scheme.

The site’s first application for a Green Flag Award in 2003 was unsuccessful and it was then management realised this award meant much more than simply having well maintained gardens. Issues such as marketing, conservation and heritage also needed consideration.

During the next few years CityWest Homes gained plenty of advice and encouragement from various people involved in the Green Flag Award scheme. The company was even able to view a copy of the management plan for a successful Green Flag Award site which was extremely useful in demonstrating what was needed to achieve these high standards.

An application for a Green Flag Award in 2006 was unsuccessful but the judges’ feedback report proved useful as a guide on to where improvements could be made. As a result of this, CityWest Homes finally achieved the award in 2007/2008.

Estate Services Manager Alison Weller said: “By putting together a management plan for the application for a Green Flag Award, we were able to focus on our working practices, on how we worked with the community and with the heritage of the estate. We are always looking for new ways to make improvements and other ways to engage with the community.

“We are very proud of the fact that we have gained a Green Flag Award, becoming the first social housing estate to do so. We have shown that it is possible to have high standards of management and communal gardens that our residents are proud of. It recognises not just the quality of the grounds maintenance but the high standards of the cleaning and the services provided by the estate office.

“All too often green spaces around people’s homes are neglected but these are just as important as parks and other open spaces. We wanted to show that we could achieve the same standards as a local authority park, and that we could improve the environment in which people live.,.

“With the support of CityWest Homes and the residents’ association we hope to continue to go from strength to strength with the Green Flag Award.”