A PUBLIC vote searching for Britain's favourite green space has led to Oswestry's Cae Glas Park being shortlisted as one of the top nine in the West Midlands.

The nationwide search to find the UK’s Favourite Parks was led by Royal environmental charity, Fields in Trust, the competition saw over 360 spaces nominated by those who use and love them across the UK.

The public support for Cae Glas from people based locally had a huge impact on the vote, much to Oswestry mayor Councillor Jay Moore's delight.

He said: "It's such great news, I think we all know how hard the park keepers work and what a fantastic job they do keeping Cae Glas Park worthy of such recognition.

"I know the support Oswestry has shown by voting for Cae Glas Park will bring a smile to the faces of the team there, and rightly so.

"We're all very proud and Cae Glas Park absolutely deserves the accolade."

Cae Glas joins Burton Dassett Hills Country Park in Leamington Spa, Telford Town Park, Telford and more across the region as the best-loved parks.

Nationally, the overall award went to Penrhos Coastal Park in Holyhead –North Wales – which achieved the most public votes and is officially the ‘UK’s Favourite Park 2022’.

In total more than 30,000 people cast a vote for their favourite park and Penrhos has emerged as the overall winner for the UK.

The national winners are Blackpool’s Stanley Park in England, Aberdeen’s Seaton Park in Scotland, and Craigavon City Park in Northern Ireland.

The 200-acre Penrhos park has everything from beaches to woodland walks and is extremely popular with both locals and tourists alike. With a rich history dating back to 1553, the green space is also home to several features of historical interest, including original Tudor era buildings.

Helen Griffiths, chief executive of Fields in Trust, said: “We’re incredibly excited to announce that Penrhos Coastal Park in Holyhead has been voted as the UK’s Favourite Park 2022 by those who use and love it.

"We’ve had a fantastic response to the competition from all across the UK and I’d like to thank everyone who nominated and voted for parks over the past few weeks.”

Fields in Trust’s annual Green Space Index, published earlier in 2022, revealed that 2.8 million people are not living within a ten-minute walk of a local park and only six per cent of green space provision in Britain is legally protected.

"Our work to legally protect green spaces for good means we’re well aware of the threats they face and how important it is value and celebrate them,” said Helen.