Loughborough Is Best of Blooming British
LOUGHBOROUGH is officially Britain’s best blooming ‘small city’ after scooping Gold and a special award for community participation at the prestigious Britain in Bloom awards.
For the first time ever, Loughborough scooped a Gold & Category Winner in the Small City category at the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Britain in Bloom National Awards 2012.
A second reason to celebrate came when Loughborough was awarded the RHS Britain in Bloom Community Award which goes to the finalist that best demonstrated community involvement in their local ‘in Bloom’ campaign.
Andy Rush, Chairman of Loughborough In Bloom and Editor of the Loughborough Echo which has led the Bloom project, said: “Brilliant and amazing.
“Who would have thought four years ago, when we first started out on our Bloom adventure, that Loughborough would be named the best small city in Great Britain? It is staggering.
“I find it very hard to take in, but at the same time it is a worthy testament and reward for all the hard work carried out by everyone involved with Loughborough in Bloom.
“It has been a real community effort, which virtually started with nothing, but which continues to grow each year, thanks to the work of people from all walks of life in the town.
“I’d like to thank everyone for their fantastic achievement and also to the Bloom judges for recognising and putting their faith in the town’s efforts.”
RHS Britain in Bloom is the biggest voluntary campaign in the UK and works to improve people’s lives through community gardening.
Loughborough has twice won Gold awards in the East Midlands in Bloom competition but this was the first time the town had been invited to enter the nationwide contest.
Matt Baker, host of BBC TV’s The One Show, presented the awards, held in St Peter Port, Guernsey, on Saturday, October 6, and attended by 450 community gardening champions.
Loughborough was represented by Bloom’s vice-chairman Mike Jones. He said: “To be awarded a Gold at National Level and to be named the best small city in the country is a remarkable achievement and I pay tribute to all our partners, but particularly to the volunteers in our many community groups, who have made this incredible result possible.”
Councillor Hilary Fryer, Charnwood Borough Council’s Cabinet member for Cleansing and Open Spaces, said: “What a fantastic result and a grand recognition of all the hard work that everyone put in – from the participants, all the communities, our sponsors, businesses to street cleaners including all the Council staff who put in the extra mile. This is a superb accolade.
“This just shows what the people of Loughborough can do when they set their minds on a common goal.”
Loughborough was among an elite group of just 24 towns, cities and villages which won Gold medals at Saturday’s ceremony. The town boasted more than 100 partners and 23 specific neighbourhood groups who all contributed to the success.
Chair of the RHS Britain in Bloom UK Judging Panel, Roger Burnett, led a team of 14 volunteer judges who toured the UK in July and August visiting each finalist.
They marked against three key criteria:
- horticultural achievement
- community participation
- environmental responsibility.
Roger said: “We had the privilege and pleasure of visiting the most environmentally-aware communities in Britain and meeting the wonderful people responsible for them.
"The best thing about being a judge is meeting the volunteers. They’re hard-working and resilient – whatever’s thrown at them, whether it’s a hosepipe ban or flooding, they’ll find a way around it. It’s a hugely comforting thought to know that there are more than 200,000 Britain in Bloom volunteers across the UK.”
The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK's leading gardening charity dedicated to advancing horticulture and promoting good gardening.
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