A HARDEN beauty spot has lost its coveted Green Flag status.

The St Ives estate has failed to make the grade for the first time in years in the awards scheme, run by Keep Britain Tidy.

Parks are judged on factors including sustainability, conservation, marketing and management and whether they are safe, clean and well-maintained.

Councillor Simon Cooke, whose Bingley Rural ward includes Harden, said he suspected council-run St Ives had lost out because of the "atrocious" state of its toilets.

He called for a new way of managing the estate, where money raised through rents or proposed parking charges are earmarked for its upkeep.

Pam Laking, chairman of the Friends of St Ives, said she is "very sad" at the loss of the status.

And she said it is important Green Flag organisers should take into account the impact of council cutbacks on parks maintenance.

"The parks and woodlands team at Bradford Council is doing its best and goes above and beyond to maintain the estate," added Mrs Laking.

"St Ives is incredibly well looked after.

"However, one or two people are having to do the work of several. There isn't the same amount of money or staff around as there once was and that has to be considered."

She denied the public toilets are in a poor state.

"They may not always be as clean as we would like but they are certainly not atrocious," Mrs Laking said.

"It only takes one person to make a mess and it's impossible to have someone there all the time to keep them spotless.

"I accompanied the Green Flag judges around the estate and they didn't even visit the toilets, so that had no bearing on the outcome."

Green Flag status was awarded to just four Bradford district parks – the lowest number in five years.

Peel Park in Bradford also lost its status.

Central Park at Haworth was among those to be awarded the accolade.

A Bradford Council spokesman said: "While it is excellent news that four of our wonderful parks have once again been awarded Green Flag status, we are disappointed that the judges felt the other two parks didn't quite to come up to scratch.

"With tough budgets we are still doing our best to make sure our parks and green spaces are beautiful for our residents to enjoy."