The Mayor raises Basildon's first Green Flag at Northlands Park just after 10am on Saturday 12 September. Free football, tennis, cricket and fishing until 1pm.

The Mayor of Basildon will raise a Green Flag over Northlands Park shortly after 10am on Saturday 12 September, at a free community event marking the first Green Flag Award won by any park in the borough.

The celebration runs from 10am to 1pm. Basildon Borough Council says families can take part in free football, tennis, cricket and fishing, and look at the parks service’s new maintenance equipment (Basildon Borough Council, 1 September).

The flag-raising is timed to sit between the park’s two existing Saturday sessions. Basildon parkrun starts at 9am, a free weekly 5k around the park from Felmores Road, SS13 1SD (parkrun). ParkPlay, the free Saturday morning games session, follows the ceremony.

What the award is, and what it is not

Northlands Park won its Green Flag Award in July 2026. The award is run by Keep Britain Tidy and judged against criteria covering accessibility, maintenance, environmental management, safety, biodiversity and community involvement. 2,391 UK parks and green spaces made the 2026 list, in the scheme’s 30th anniversary year (Green Flag Award, 14 July).

Northlands Park appears in the scheme’s published 2026 winners list as the only site in the borough managed by Basildon Borough Council (2026 UK winners list, PDF).

One point of detail the council’s announcement leaves out. The same winners list records a second Basildon site: Trust Links Community Garden Basildon, run by the charity Trust Links Ltd. That garden holds the Green Flag Community Award, which is judged separately and is open to community green spaces run by a group that owns the land or has a lease or written permission from the landowner (Green Flag Award: who can apply). So Northlands Park is the borough’s first Green Flag Award park. The community garden already held the community version. They are two different awards, and the council’s phrase “first park or green space in Basildon borough” reads more broadly than the record supports.

The park keeper the council named

The council says the celebration will recognise Vic Hobbs, who was Northlands Park’s keeper for more than 20 years before retiring around two years ago. In its own words, his day-to-day work with volunteers and vulnerable adults “helped bring the community together and played an important role in the park achieving Green Flag status”.

Mayor of Basildon Cllr Sam Journet said it would be “a real privilege” to raise the flag and that the award “recognises the care, commitment and community spirit that have helped make the park such a valued place for residents and visitors”.

Cllr George Jeffery, cabinet member for environment and leisure, said the council wants to use the event to thank the volunteers, partners and community groups involved, and “to encourage even more residents to feel a sense of ownership and pride in their local green space”.

The council adds that the morning will also be used to gather residents’ views on how it runs its services, and that further activities and partners may be confirmed before the day.

What it means for you

  • The event is free and needs no booking. It runs 10am to 1pm on Saturday 12 September.
  • The flag goes up shortly after 10am, near the park entrance, so arrive by 10am if you want to see it.
  • Northlands Park is off Felmores Road, Basildon, SS13 1SD. Basildon parkrun uses the same entrance from 9am, so the car park fills early on a Saturday.
  • If you are driving from Pitsea, check Loxford before you set off. It has been closed since 1 September for carriageway patching, with no alternative route signed, and Essex County Council’s notice allows the work to run to 11 September, the day before the event. Our roadworks and travel page tracks it.

Sources