Published Friday 25 February 2022 at 12:31
Blackburn’s ‘going for gold’ after being announced as a finalist for the prestigious RHS Britain in Bloom national awards.
Judges from the North West put the town centre forward for the national award after it scooped top, Gold Awards for the fifth year in a row at the regional finals.
It will now compete with towns from across the country for the Britain in Bloom Town Centre Award.
Councillor Phil Riley, Blackburn with Darwen Council’s Executive Member for Growth and Development, said:
This is absolutely fantastic news and testament to the dedication and hard work that goes in to making Blackburn town centre look its very best each year.
Our gardeners are well known around the town for working exceptionally hard all year round and truly going above and beyond to keep our floral displays looking their very best during the summer months.
It’s a real team effort too with support from Blackburn BID, The Mall, our partners and volunteers.
For Blackburn to be recognised at a national level is just brilliant and very much deserved – I’d like to say a big congratulations, good-luck and thank you to everyone involved.
The national judges will visit this summer ahead of the winner being announced at a special ceremony in London in October.
Their visit is likely to coincide with new Jubilee planting displays being in full bloom in the town centre to mark the Queen’s 70 year reign.
And, in recognition of their hard work, The Mall has presented the Council’s three town centre gardeners – Head Gardener, Ian Leach, Tony Farrell and Ronan Chambers – with a voucher each.
Loraine Jones, General Manager at The Mall Blackburn, said:
We are proud to be part of an amazing group of supporters for Blackburn’s Britain in Bloom efforts and it comes as no surprise that the town has been named as a finalist for this prestigious national award.
The gardeners take pride in every aspect of their job, which is reflected in the stunning results and they always have a smile for everyone.
With spring just around the corner and the daffodils starting to bloom the town centre is, once again, set to be a sight of floral delight.
We can’t wait until the winners are announced and we very much hope that the dedication of the team gains the recognition it deserves.
In the 2021 Britain in Bloom North West Awards, Blackburn scooped three gongs:
- Gold in the Town Centre category,
- Gold in the BID category
- Best BID Award.
The awards looked at everything from the floral displays to cleanliness, maintenance, sustainability and community involvement.