Sevenoaks Vine awarded coveted Green Flag Award as it is officially recognised for the 9th year as one of the country’s best parks

Published: 23 July 2025

Sevenoaks Town Council is celebrating after receiving a Green Flag Award for the Vine for the 9th year running. This award is the international quality mark for parks and green spaces.

The Sevenoaks Town Council Open Spaces team accepted the award at a ceremony in Bath on 18 July.

Cllr Merilyn Canet, Chair of the Community Asset Committee at Sevenoaks Town Council, commented, “The Vine is a historic and important green area of Sevenoaks. Many residents of all ages enjoy playing, walking and listening to music from the Bandstand at the Vine. Cricket has been played here for over two hundred years, which I trust will continue. The Green Flag Award recognises the pleasure that the Vine gives to the town and the hard work that the Town Council team puts into maintaining it.”

Sevenoaks Town Council recently revitalised the pond and pergola area of the Vine Gardens with a new ground surface made of a mix of stone and recycled plastic waste. The transformation not only looks beautiful, but it is also more accessible, has environmental benefits, and will reduce long-term maintenance costs.

Green Flag Award Scheme Manager, Paul Todd MBE, said, “Congratulations to everyone involved in the Vine who have worked tirelessly to ensure that it achieves the high standards required for the Green Flag Award. Quality parks and green spaces like the Vine make the country a heathier place to live and work in, and a stronger place in which to invest. Crucially, the Vine is a vital green space for communities in Sevenoaks to enjoy nature, and during the ongoing cost of living crisis it is a free and safe space for families to socialise. It also provides important opportunities for local people and visitors to reap the physical and mental health benefits of green space.”

The Green Flag Award scheme, managed by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy under licence from the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, recognises and rewards well-managed parks and green spaces, setting the benchmark standard for the management of green spaces across the United Kingdom and around the world.