Council support appreciated as judge visit nears
Members of Beautiful Perth are gearing up for the visit of the Britian in Bloom judges next week.
The representatives appointed by the Royal Horticultural Society will be in the Fair City on Tuesday to assess the work done by volunteers from Beautiful Perth, the council and other partner groups who all help make Perth such a beautiful place to live, work and visit.
The judges will decide if Perth is to be named the champion of champions, after picking up the ‘best large town’ award at last year’s Britain in Bloom awards.
The city is up against Castlecaulfield in Northern Ireland, Durham, Kingsbridge in Devon and St Helier on Jersey for the honour.
The awards are not just about flowers. The judging criteria do include horticulture (40 per cent of the marks), with 30 per cent of the points awarded for environmental performance, covering things like supporting biodiversity, reducing litter and waste, and taking pride in Perth’s urban environment.
A further 30 per cent of the points are for community and are for demonstrating wide ranging partnerships and forward planning.
Beautiful Perth volunteers will host the judges’ visit to show them what has been done over the past year, and to introduce them to some of the key partnerships that have made it all happen.
They will be greeted by Provost Melloy on behalf of the council, and by Beautiful Perth chairman John Summers OBE, who will then lead their tour of the city.
John said: “I am very grateful to the provost for agreeing to meet the judges.
“In my view, the council doesn’t get the credit it deserves for all the work it does to enhance the local environment in Perth and Kinross.
“Across the county, it supports no fewer than 50 ‘in bloom’ voluntary groups like ourselves.
“From Beautiful Perth’s point of view, we get tremendous support from Community Greenspace, the Westbank Nursery and the waste services team, and from other council departments including community payback, parking services, dog control, grounds management, roads, regeneration and street lighting.
“Without these, and our other partners and sponsors, our volunteers could not deliver the quality of work needed to win Britain in Bloom awards, let alone get to the standard required to get into the champion of champions category.
“We are up against the very best of the best this year, so I hope PA readers will wish us luck.”
• The PA has teamed up with Beautiful Perth to help give the city the best chance of winning the coveted Britain in Bloom ‘champion of champions’ award.
We are promoting the group’s own awards, with organisations, schools, businesses and individuals encouraged to take part and help the city look its best this summer.
There are award categories for everyone, and three new categories will make this one of the best awards yet.
Guidance for entrants can be found on the Beautiful Perth website https:// beautifulperth.org/get-involved/
Fill out the entry form on the page to enter the competition. Beautiful Perth chair John Summers OBE and treasurer Monica Straughan are aiming for the top prize