Big clean-up to help pride of town bloom
LATER this month, on July 30, the entry from Civic Pride Rossendale of a route around Rawtenstall will be assessed by two judges from the Royal Horticultural Society as part of the Britain in Bloom competition.
For a final big push Civic Pride Rossendale are having a Big Clean up weekend on July 23-24. They want to invite everyone who can spare an hour or two to help make a difference.
Jobs to tackle will be mainly pavement weeding and sweeping, litter picking, watering plants and more. If you have gloves or relevant tools please bring them along, although some will also be available. They will be meeting at 10am at the town square.
On the judging day the panel will walk around a set route inspecting the beautiful flower beds, but also considering the environment and the involvement of the community in the entry.
Spokeswoman Janet Allock said: “There have been some great improvements made just recently, with the great effort of the fantastic volunteers. New planters have appeared opposite the riverside gardens by Tesco, which improve the view when sitting on the benches on the Riverside Walk. Three new planters have also been added in a vacant space by Reeds Rains at the bottom of Bank Street, creating a lovely feature. The Library Gardens/Sparrow Park have been transformed with existing flower beds completely revitalized making this area a real pleasure to visit again.”
Alongside these big changes the volunteers have also been busy weeding not only the flower beds but also the pavements, while the hanging baskets and barrier baskets are also looking wonderful. Whatever the weather - wet or dry - volunteers are going to be out preparing for the big day.
Other activities have also been organised to involve the community. A window display competition along Bank Street is asking local businesses to get involved by creating a display in their windows with a flower teasel, train or textile theme from July 16. The judging of the windows will take place on July 29, with winners announced the following day.
Rossendale Hospice patients are busy creating individual plaques for the gardens to add personal special touches.
Janet added: “A really incredible large wall hanging has been created by a team of volunteers working at St Paul’s Community Centre over the last few months. It shows the route of the judging, including the gardens on route and historical and other areas of interest. This will be displayed at the railway station on July 30 for the judges and
the public to see.” Local children have been involved in a colouring competition following the theme of teasels, textiles and trains, or have created their own design about helping our environment.
The winners and others will be displayed in the windows of Just Beautiful Kitchens on Bury Road from July 16. Local schools
have also been involved in the colouring competition and painting and planting up flower pots for the route, worm surveys, and teasel planting.
To celebrate the huge efforts of all the volunteers and the businesses and community a celebration event is being held on Saturday, July 30 at 2pm in the town square.