Raising the green flag at Lewisham Park
Earlier today (10 September 2025), the Mayor of Lewisham, local councillors, and pupils from St Mary’s Primary School helped raise the park’s very first Green Flag Award, marking a proud moment for the borough. This brings Lewisham’s total number of Green Flag parks to 24, showing just how committed the borough is to keeping its green spaces clean, safe, and welcoming for everyone.
Brenda Dacres, Mayor of Lewisham, was joined by Year 6 students from St Mary’s Primary School, Glendale, and local residents from Lewisham Park (Crescent) Residents’ Association. Cllr Laura Cunningham and Cllr Liz Johnston-Franklin, Ladywell Ward Councillors were also at the flag raising. Together, they celebrated the park’s transformation and the hard work that made this award possible.
The Green Flag Award is the cherry on top of a successful few years for Lewisham Park recently, with a £167,000 investment from Section 106 and NCIL funds to upgrade this popular park with a new playground.
The playground, upgraded in December 2023, is both sustainable and inclusive. Equipment includes a You and Me swing, a timber agility trail, a basket swing for all abilities, sound, light and touch play panels, bug magnifiers and a new sensory path. There’s also a climbing frame with two towers, a bridge and spider net plus even a fairy tale throne.
To make sure older children (aged eight to 12) have just as much fun, the Residents’ Association helped design a new Trim Trail, funded by the Mayor’s Greening Fund, encouraging active play and physical challenge.
The park’s old municipal signs have been replaced with two new interpretation panels, also funded by the Mayor’s Greening Fund. Designed with input from local residents, the signs tell the story of Lewisham Park’s journey from private gardens to public green space in 1965. They highlight seasonal beauty like cherry blossoms in spring and golden leaves in autumn, as well as the commemorative rose beds planted for the Queen’s Silver Jubilee in 1977.
Cllr Laura Cunningham, Ward Councillor for Ladywell, said,
“Many people in Lewisham do not have a garden to relax or play in. Thanks to local residents working with Glendale and Lewisham Council, local residents have a fabulous park to enjoy and worthy of its Green Flag status”.
Alison Munro, Chair of the Lewisham Park (Crescent) Residents’ Association said,
“Over the last 12 years, Lewisham Park has been transformed into a beautiful park. It is much-loved by the local community. The Green Flag is the ‘icing on the cake’. It tells everyone that we now have one of the best parks in the country.”
Lewisham Park’s Green Flag is testament to the fantastic work of the Council’s Parks teams, Resident’s Association, community groups in the borough, partners and Glendale who work hard to help these green spaces flourish. The recognition of our nature reserves reflects the Council’s commitment to biodiversity, offering spaces for people to connect, learn and enhances overall wellbeing, and what makes Lewisham such a great place to live.