Warley Woods in Smethwick, Sandwell, has been voted England’s number one favourite green space after taking the silver award in the UK-wide Green Flag People’s Choice Awards, and Tipton Cemetery came in at number 10. The Sandwell green spaces are the only two in the West Midlands to appear in the People’s Choice top ten.

It means the 100-acre park, which is run by Warley Woods Community Trust, is the number one favourite green space in England. It was only pipped to the ‘top in Britain’ spot by a Victorian railway station in Monmouthshire, Wales.

Tipton Cemetery has only recently won a Green Flag Award and is the only cemetery in the West Midlands to hold the accolade, which is given to well-looked after green spaces.

Sandwell has nine Green Flag Award parks and green spaces in total.

The other seven are Sandwell Valley Country Park, Barnford Park and Barnford and Farm Road Allotments in Oldbury, Haden Hill Park in Cradley Heath, Moorlands Allotments in West Bromwich, Victoria Park in Tipton and Victoria Park in Smethwick.

Over 13,000 votes were received in the competition this year – with almost 10 per cent of those votes going to Warley Woods.

The People’s Choice Award 2011 top ten are:

• The Old Station, Tintern, Monmouthshire, Wales
• Warley Woods, Sandwell, West Midlands
• Cassiobury Park, Watford
• Whiteknights, University of Reading
• Queen Elizabeth Country Park, Waterlooville, Hampshire
• Harcourt Hill Campus, Oxford Brookes University
• Apex Leisure & Wildlife Park, Burnham on Sea, Somerset
• Victoria Park, Tower Hamlets, East London
• Oxford Brookes University Headington Campus
• Tipton Cemetery, Sandwell, West Midlands

The Green Flag Awards are given to the best free to enter green spaces in the country.  In 2011 1,290 sites received the award.