Newbury urged to show some flower power

The Newbury in Bloom campaign will be the fourth of its kind run by Newbury Town Council

BUDDING gardeners and floral enthusiasts across Newbury are being urged to spruce up the town in a wider effort to enter Britain’s nationwide and longest-running gardening competition.

The Newbury in Bloom campaign will be the fourth of its kind run by Newbury Town Council, which aims to encourage businesses, schools and community hubs to design their own flower displays.

The community initiative aims to improve the look of the town and to make it a more pleasant place to live, visit and work, as well as highlight the community’s horticultural achievements.

A total of 45 entries were received across the six categories in last year’s contest.

After the success of the project in recent years, the town council has this year decided to enter the national Britain in Bloom competition – the Royal Horticultural Society’s longest-running gardening competition.

Last Wednesday, a handful of hopeful contestants for this year’s competition gathered at Newbury Town Hall, where the town council sowed the seeds for the campaign.

Newbury Town Council’s ground maintenance officer and lead officer for Newbury in Bloom James Heasman addressed members of the public, while Sarah Greenhall, who chairs the town council’s Britain in Bloom working group, was also in attendance.

Mr Heasman who has been on the judging competition for the past three years, told onlookers they had been identified as “highlights who fit the Britain in Bloom ethos”.

He also unveiled a pre-determined route that will be walked by judges throughout the town, which will be used to help determine the winners of the competition.

These will include visits to Newtown Road Cemetery and St John the Evangelist School, which won first prize in the schools and colleges category in last year’s competition.

The route will also stop at Carnarvon Place and Monkey Marsh bee meadow, which both featured in last year’s competition.

There will then be a canal boat journey to Lock Island, where judges will meet a Growing Newbury Green and Secret Garden representative.

This will be followed by a walk through Parkway, before the route finishes in Victoria Park with cream teas.

The route, however, is subject to change.

Newbury will first have to impress in the regional Thames and Chiltern in Bloom round to qualify for the coveted Britain in Bloom competition.

The town will be judged in the ‘small city’ category – after it was revealed that there are around 600 too many inhabitants for it to compete in the town category.

The judging criteria for the competition will be split three ways, with environmental responsibility, community involvement and horticultural achievement all categories which are scrutinised by the judges.