Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Silver adds the polish in reward for looking good
Bay continues to impress judges
CANTERBURY has won a silver award at its first attempt for years in the prestigious South and South East in Bloom competition.
Judges praised the energy and enthusiasm of both individuals and groups in their efforts to make the historic city look good.
The entry was spearheaded by Canterbury Community in Bloom and the Canterbury City Partnership whose chairman Bob Jones said: “As this is the first time Canterbury has entered this regional competition for many years we didn’t really know what to expect.
“I am very proud the city has achieved a high standard so quickly and can’t wait to get started on our campaign for 2013.”
Excellence
He and board member of the CCB, Virginia Webb, received the silver award from TV presenter Chris Collins at the presentation event on Thursday.
Virginia said: “This is a great reward, not only for those working together for the first time, but also for groups like Canterbury Community in Bloom which have been striving to promote horticultural excellence and community pride for many years in the city.”
Judges awarded the city a High Silver and so the next target is to achieve a Silver Gilt award in the coming year.
Areas for improvement highlighted by the judges include a greater emphasis on water conservation, more involvement for local businesses and greater visible promotion of the campaign across the city.
The keepers of the Hambrook Marshes also gained a “thriving” recognition for their work in the nature park in the It’s Your Neighbourhood category.
Elsewhere in the district, Doddington won the medium -sized village category, picking up a silver award, and St John the Baptist Church won the chairman’s award. HERNE Bay collected a clutch of awards including being voted the best medium-sized coastal town and best heritage park and garden for Reculver Country Park. It also gained a silver gilt for the War Memorial Park in the large park category and Oxenden Square earned recognition in the It’s Your Neighbourhood class. Herne Bay in Bloom secretary Coleen AshwinKeen said: “We are slightly disappointed to lose the gold the town won last year by just a few points but overall it was a very successful result and we did get a gold for the country park so are delighted. “The judges were impressed by the efforts of volunteers to make the town look nice.” Town manager Chris West added: “These results are a real feather in the cap for Herne Bay. We had lots of comments from visitors this year about how nice the town looked.”