Another sweet smell of success for city

In Bloom judges impressed by our entries

Canterbury has come up smelling of roses in the South and South East in Bloom Awards.

A huge effort to make the city as colourful, clean and attractive as possible has earned a gold in the small city category – and a place in the national finals.

There was also a gold for Canterbury Cathedral in the heritage parks and gardens section, and the Friends of Kingsmead Field earned an “outstanding” accolade for the In Your Neighbourhood category.

Other notable successes for the city were silver gilt awards for the Whitefriars and Canterbury Christ Church University, while the community groups of Love Hambrook Marshes, Market Way Residents’ Association, Oaten Hill and District Association and St Stephen’s Residents’ Associa- tion were all rated as “thriving”.

Canterbury in Bloom was coordinated by the Canterbury Connected Business Improvement District, known as BID, which provided 300 flowering hanging baskets for the city streets at a cost of £25,000.

The results, which have just been announced, follow a visit and tour of the city by judges in July.

Chief executive Bob Jones said it would enhance Canterbury’s reputation nationally: “In 2011, there were no entries to the regional competition from the city while this year 12 entrants scored well across the board, with Friends of Kingsmead Field leading the way with the highest possible score.

“It is just reward for all the hard work and dedication invested by so many volunteers and partners across the range of organisations working to make our city a lovely place in which to live, work, study and visit.

“I am delighted that the city has been awarded an overall gold again this year, repeating our achievement in 2015 and we await the Britain in Bloom awards where we will be tested against the best across the nation.

“However we do, we will learn, improve and start planning for 2017 with energy and enthusiasm. I would like to thank everyone who contributed across the 12 entries from across the city this year.

“Whether you worked in a marsh or a shopping centre, made your front garden spectacular or removed litter from the river, everyone made a positive difference to our community and I would encourage more groups to enter next year.”

Anyone interested in entering their neighbourhood, allotment or shared space in the South and South East in Bloom competition in 2017 should email info@canterburybid.co.uk