VALE of Glamorgan Council has been criticised for the way it is looking after its green spaces after it chose not to re-think its decision to withdraw from the Green Flag park status.

Vale of Glamorgan was one of the leading areas in Wales for award-winning parks before the county council decided in 2024 to withdraw from the scheme in a cost-cutting move.

This year, Vale of Glamorgan Council has continued with its stance on the scheme, with one of the local authority's cabinet members saying parks remain well maintained and continue to "offer excellent amenity value".

Conservative group leader at the council, Cllr George Carroll, said he wasn't surprised with the council's move, calling the Labour administration "out of touch" and criticising the decision to allow an aqua park at Cosmeston Lake this summer.

Vale of Glamorgan Council's leader, Cllr Lis Burnett, said: "We fully recognise how important our parks and green spaces are to our residents and continue to maintain them to a high standard.

"We withdrew from the external scheme last year as we work towards a more sustainable approach with greater use of perennial plants, trees and local species to support local biodiversity.

"Over the coming year we will be talking to local communities about how they want to use 'green and blue spaces', which will guide how we manage parks, open spaces and our coastline.

"We hope as many people as possible will participate."

Vale of Glamorgan Council took the decision to remove Green Flag park status from all eight council parks that had it as part of the 2024-25 budget setting process. These included:

• Alexandra Park, Penarth
• Belle Vue Park, Penarth
• Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Penarth
• Central Park, Barry
• Gladstone Gardens, Barry
• Knap Gardens, Barry
• Porthkerry Country Park, Barry
• Romilly Park, Barry

Not being under the scheme meant the council did not have to undertake some of the higher level horticultural tasks required or pay an external organisation to have parks formally accredited.

A council document published in March 2025 shows the council saved £140,000 from the decision.

Plaid Cymru group leader at Vale of Glamorgan Council, Cllr Ian Johnson, said: "The Vale council were very keen to boast about the number of Green Flag parks until last year's budget – when Labour cut £140,000, and pulled out of the scheme.

 "It was explained that these cuts would be met by reducing the number of agency staff working within parks.

"We will see over the summer whether these cuts negatively impact the quality of our parks – a matter that will be for the public to decide.

"The Green Flag is a recognised mark of quality, judged independently, and I'm pleased that Barry Town Council's Merthyr Dyfan Cemetery still reaches that target – now the only Green Flag in Barry."

In March 2025 the council voted through a number of other proposals as part of its 2025-26 budget, including reducing street cleansing and removing litter bins, to save £8.77m.

Since then, the council has also looked at opportunities to generate income.

In March, the council announced that it planned to enter into an agreement with Aqua Park Group to pilot an aqua park with inflatable slides and climbing frames at the eastern side of Cosmeston Lake from May 2025 to September 2025.

Cllr Carroll mentioned this in his response about the council's continuation of its Green Flag park status policy.

He said: "This move is not surprising, given the council's desire to open an aqua park at Cosmeston Lakes.

"These plans are completely unsuitable for this location and have no regard for the natural environment or unique qualities that make Cosmeston so special.

"This out of touch Labour council should be protecting green spaces like Cosmeston, not subjecting them to overdevelopment."

So far, 3,537 have signed a Change.org petition calling for the aqua park not to be installed.

Vale of Glamorgan Council's director of place, Marcus Goldsworthy, said the move presented an opportunity for the council to generate income for improving park facilities at Cosmeston.

He also said a number of conditions will be attached to any licence agreement moving forward to ensure ecologically important areas of the park are protected.

On Green Flag park status concerns, Vale of Glamorgan Council cabinet member for neighbourhood and building services, Cllr Mark Wilson said: "The decision not to apply for the Green Flag Award was made in 2024, and that decision has remained in place for 2025-26 as part of continuing cost-saving measures, so I am surprised that this matter is being raised now and in response to a recent budget report and not as a result of any concerns with the standards of maintenance in our parks during 2024-25.

"The decision formed a part of the budget proposal for 2024-25, which was subject to public consultation and extensively scrutinised by councillors.

"From April 1, 2024, we have not undertaken some of the higher-level horticultural tasks required or paid an external organisation to have our parks formally accredited with a Green Flag; though our parks remain well maintained and continue to offer excellent amenity value to our residents and visitors alike, I believe that this is what is most important.

"It is necessary to ensure that we run our services as efficiently as possible, and the decision was made in line with the council's budget strategy which is to protect education and social care services as a priority and this strategy was supported by the majority of respondents in our most recent budget consultation."