Friends of Barkby Road Cemetery awarded coveted Green Flag Award and officially recognised as one of the country’s best cemeteries
Barkby Road Cemetery in Syston raises the prestigious Green Flag Award after achieving international quality mark for parks and green spaces.
Syston Town Council is celebrating after receiving a Community Green Flag Award for Friends of Barkby Road Cemetery. The site is one of 2,250 in the UK to achieve the award, which is the international quality mark for parks and green spaces.
The news that Barkby Road Cemetery has met the standards required for the accreditation is testament to the hard work and dedication of the team that care for the green space so that visitors and residents alike can enjoy it.
Green Flag Award Scheme Manager, Paul Todd MBE, said: “Congratulations to everyone involved in Barkby Road Cemetery who have worked tirelessly to ensure that it achieves the high standards required for the Green Flag Award.
“Quality parks and green spaces like Barkby Road Cemetery make the country a heathier place to live and work in, and a stronger place in which to invest.
“Crucially Barkby Road Cemetery is a vital green space for communities in Syston 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.
The Green Flag Award Scheme is run by the environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, under licence from the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, in partnership with Keep Scotland Beautiful, Keep Wales Tidy and Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful.
A Green Flag Community Award recognises quality sites managed by voluntary and community groups.
Keep Britain Tidy is a leading environmental charity. We set the standard for the management of parks and beaches, inspire people to be litter-free, to waste less and live more sustainably.
We run campaigns and programmes including the Great British Spring Clean, Eco-Schools, Love Parks Week (25th July – 3rd August 2025), Buy Nothing New Month, Eco-Schools, the Green Flag Award for parks and green spaces, the Blue Flag/ Seaside Awards for beaches and blue spaces, and the Green Key for sustainable tourism and hospitality. To find out more about Keep Britain Tidy, our campaigns and programmes visit keepbritaintidy.org.