Bloomin’ marvelous
Street sweeper Paul and MAD congratulated too
Coupar Angus Pride of Place is celebrating this week after scooping a cove ted gold award in the prestigious Britain in Bloom awards.
Representatives from the award-winning east Perthshire environmental group joined Britain in Bloom groups from across the UK at the Royal Horticultural Society’ s( RH S) Britain in Bloom awards ceremony, hosted by TV presenter and renowned garden designer James Alexander-Sinclair, and held in Wales on Friday, October 27.
Coupar Angus, one of eight groups in Scotland chosen to represent the nation in the UK awards, won a gold medal in the large village category.
Anne Easson, chair of Pride of Place (PoP), is over the moon with the award.
She said: “Coupar Angus Pride of Place is delighted and proud to have achieved gold for the third time in Britain in Bloom.
“It is a fantastic result for Coupar Angus and reflects just how well the PoP team are supported by the community.
“It is also a testament to the hard work and effort the volunteers put in week in week out in all weathers keeping the town looking fantastic.
“Thanks must go to Paul, our street sweeper, for all his efforts and also to the Make a Difference (MaD) team for their wonderful and willing support.
“We work in partnership with Community Greenspace PKC and also wish to thank them for their support.”
Provost of Perth and Kinross Council, Dennis Melloy, who is also a councillor for the Strathmore ward, was one of the first to congratulate the group on their success.
He said: “It is fantastic news that once again Coupar Angus Pride of Place has struck gold at the Britain in Bloom awards in the best large village category.
“My sincere congratulations to everyone involved at Po P. Their vision, hard work and determination is a lesson to us all.
“Coupar Angus and indeed the whole of Perth and Kinross are extremely proud of their achievements. Every year I wonder what is going to be their next triumph!”
Strathmore councillor Fiona Sawar added: “Congratulations to the Pride of Place group on another brilliant result.
“It’s great to see all the hours of hard work by so many volunteers rewarded with a gold award.
“It is very well deserved and appreciated by all of us in the town.”
RHS judges visited the 78 finalists over the summer to assess each group against three key criteria : community participation, environmental responsibility and horticultural achievement.
Depending on the standard reached, a gold, silver gilt, silver or bronze medal is awarded, with a winner in each category and discretionary awards for achieving excellence in particular fields.
Roger Burnett, chair of the RHS Britain in Bloom judges, said: “It’s a huge honour to witness how Britain in Bloom brings people together and the lengths that groups go to to make their communities clean, green and beautiful.
“We saw an incredible diversity of different planting schemes, including wildflower meadows for wildlife, community food growing and plants chosen to cope with our changing climate.
“This year, the standard was as high as ever but what really stood out was the creativity and ingenuity that groups showed in tackling the specific challenges of their particular areas, whether that be lack of funding, local social issues or tricky site conditions.”
Britain in Bloom is now in its 53rd year and, for the first time, a new BBC Two series following the competition is set to air in spring 2018.