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Northumberland is celebrating after achieving a fantastic 14 prestigious Green Flags – the international quality mark for parks and green spaces. Presented by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, the award, now in its 30th year, honours parks and green spaces that meet the highest standards of environmental management, maintenance, and community involvement. The 14 Northumberland parks have been awarded Green Flags in 2026 are: Alexandra Park (Cramlington) Astley Pa

The cream of the county’s community work has been celebrated at this year’s LOVE Northumberland awards. Schools, community groups, organisations and individuals were recognised for their efforts to keep the county clean and green with awards across seven categories in what is now the event’s 16th year. Representatives of all shortlisted entries attended the event at The Alnwick Garden hosted by BBC Radio Newcastle presenter Anna Foster, with awards presented by The Duchess

Northumberland County Council is changing the way it delivers its free tree scheme – after giving out over 62,000 saplings over the past six years. This year, the council is promoting the Woodland Trust’s free tree packs for community groups including schools and town and parish councils which is open for applications until August. More information about this year’s scheme can be found at https://www.northumberlandnetzero.uk/apply/free-trees While individual samplings are

Northumberland County Council is backing national Clean Air Day (Thursday June 18) which aims to highlight the negative impacts of air pollution on our health and the importance of everyone playing their part to improve the air we breathe. Clean Air Day is the UK’s largest annual air pollution campaign and is coordinated by the environmental charity Global Action Plan. The campaign focuses on improving the public understanding of indoor and outdoor air pollution, highlig

Two projects are underway designed to protect two of the county’s villages from coastal erosion. In the south-east, work on the Cresswell Coastal Road Slope Management Scheme has started and is expected to last around eight weeks. It will involve stabilising the slope next to the road near Golden Sands Holiday Park, helping to protect this important coastal route while longer-term solutions are developed. Works will include: Installation of new rock armour along the shore

A dedicated group of volunteers are working hard along the Northumberland coast to help protect nesting shorebirds. Each spring, birds such as ringed plover and oystercatchers come here to lay their eggs on sandy and shingle beaches, and rely on our help to keep them safe. Efforts to help beach nesting birds are led by wildlife rangers from Space for Shorebirds, the County Council’s ranger service that helps people to protect shorebirds. Volunteers from the Northumberland

Grassroot community projects across Northumberland are benefitting from the County Council’s Environment and Climate Fund. 17 groups and organisations are receiving funding of up to £5,000 from a pot of £50,000 to help them make sustainable changes; tackling climate change and improving their local environment. The projects span a wide range of activities, from forest school enhancement, nature corridors, cycling and active travel schemes to water quality monitoring, ene

Northumberland County Council is working with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to capture voices from Northumberland’s farming communities. The Council, with support from DEFRA, has been hosting a series of workshops and meetings with key players in the agricultural sector to help provide long-term direction and explore what farmers need on the ground. The latest event saw 37 individuals – particularly young people from Northumberland College -

Northumberland County Council is introducing its updated plan to conserve and enhance biodiversity in the county. The Council’s Cabinet has agreed to a new plan which will explore appropriate conservation and enhancement of designated sites, important habitats and species in Northumberland over the next five years. The plan will look at strategies to strengthen relationships with landowners and developers in the county to ensure that land management continues to maintain h

Following the success of its ambitious Environmental Policy, Northumberland County Council is set to introduce a new high-quality environmental protection plan. The Policy, to be considered by the Council’s Cabinet, will explore initiatives such as the introduction of new nature trails, investing more in country parks, improving tree maintenance in urban areas, tackling waste issues and working with partners to enhance active and public transport provision. Since the intro

Northumberland County Council will once again be backing Keep Britain Tidy’s Great British Spring Clean in 2026. Ten years since its inception, The Great British Spring Clean will take place from 13 to 29 March and will involve passionate individuals, councils, community groups and businesses ensuring the environment that we inhabit is kept clean and tidy for years to come. Last year, the campaign saw more than 462,000 bags of litter collected by volunteers up and down the

Northumberland County Council is offering funding from a pot of £50,000 for projects aiming to help the environment. Up to £5,000 is available from the Council’s Environment and Climate Fund to support community initiatives such as reducing emissions, enhancing energy efficiency, educating and engaging the local community, and promoting waste reduction through reducing, reusing and recycling. Applications are now open at https://www.northumberlandnetzero.uk/apply/climate-fu

The County Council’s plans for a new community woodland are underway in Hadston and Red Row. During two community planting events, over 300 trees have been put in the ground with another 10,000 more being planted over the coming weeks by a local tree planting company. The Old School Field site in Hadston has seen a total of 80 volunteers from Hadston House Youth Club and members of the public plant tree species including Rowan, Downy Birch, Silver Birch, and Hornbeam. The

A new management plan is being put in place by the County Council to ensure that Northumberland’s designated stretch of coastline continues to be protected. The new plan, formally adopted by the Council, will cover The Northumberland Coast National Landscape, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty which runs along 64km of coastline from near Berwick-upon-Tweed to the Coquet Estuary. The Northumberland Coast National Landscape Management Plan will run until 2030 to ensure tha

Cutting-edge technology is being trialled to enable better and faster planning decisions in relation to flood risk in the county. A project is underway within the County Council after it was awarded over £725,000 in Government funding to carry out pioneering research into how AI can support faster and better planning decisions relating to flood risk on a national scale. The money came from the UK Government’s Regulatory Innovation Office (RIO) which funds regulators and loc

Landmark moment as Northumberland County Council plants it’s millionth tree. A 2-metre-tall Oak tree has been planted at East Cramlington Local Nature Reserve by the Council’s Great Northumberland Forest team as part of National Tree Week. Since the introduction of the Great Northumberland Forest initiative in 2019, the Council has created 190ha (hectares) of tree coverage - that’s over 27 trees for every child under the age of five in Northumberland, helping to boost biod

Northumberland’s beaches are some of the very best in England for water cleanliness, according to a new study. An impressive twelve bathing waters along Northumberland’s heritage coastline have once again been awarded the ‘excellent’ standard - the highest possible rating in European bathing water quality. The beaches that have been rated as ‘excellent’ are Bamburgh Castle, Seahouses North, Beadnell, Low Newton, Warkworth, Amble Links, Druridge Bay North and South, Newbiggi

Northumberland County Council’s free tree scheme is back again with individual saplings and packs up for grabs. The Council is once again inviting, businesses residents, schools, community groups and town and parish councils across the county to take part in this year’s free tree scheme and this year more businesses are being encouraged to apply. Apply for your free trees at Northumberland Net Zero In a bid to help protect and enhance the natural environment the Council is

Teams from the county council have been working throughout the day in driving winds and rain to deal with the impact caused by Storm Floris Nationally, the Met Office issued Amber and Yellow weather warnings on Monday with winds bringing gusts of over 1000 mph in some parts of the country. The public are advised to avoid travelling if they possibly can and if they have to travel, to reduce speed and be vigilant for fallen branches and debris on the road network. The County Co

Important safety work is taking place in Ridley Park, Blyth this week. As part of the County Council’s year-round tree inspection programme, around a dozen dead and dying specimens have been identified in the park and are being removed. The trees, which are suffering from conditions such as Dutch Elm Disease and Ash Dieback, are being felled. A replacement tree planting plan is also being developed with new trees being planted during this winter’s tree planting season to e