Rochdale in Bloom launches 2021 entry

Date published: 06 July 2021

Rochdale in Bloom are officially going for gold once more as their 2021 entry into the North West in Bloom Competition has launched.

Last year, the local township groups – Rochdale, Heywood, Middleton and Pennines – all scooped gold awards for their impressive horticultural displays. Rochdale was judged to be the best ‘small city’ and winner of the overall North West in Bloom trophy, winning gold for the fourth year in a row.

No competition took place in 2020, with all In Bloom and community-led It’s Your Neighbourhood entries deferred until 2021.
 

Read more: Rochdale In Bloom: overall category winner of Large Town/Small City at RHS North West in Bloom awardsPublished: 01 November 2019

This year, the launch for Rochdale in Bloom took place at Nutters Restaurant in Norden; celebrity chef Andrew Nutter is the group’s ambassador for another year and will be providing hospitality on judging day.

Andrew has created allotments to serve the judges a special In Bloom-grown salad – and created a bespoke ‘Nuterpillar’ which the group hopes will stay away from the growing produce.

For 2021, Rochdale in Bloom has once again partnered with local businesses including H Bell & Sons, as well as Richard Hagan, of Crystal Doors, and Angela Collinge, who runs Cutgate’s Amber Pets.

Roy Down, chair of Rochdale in Bloom, said: “Given the recent circumstances [of the pandemic], I’m hoping that we maintain what we had before, rather than make progress and gains.

“You’ve got to re-earn your gold each year, so if we set out to hold onto what we had, we can work on improvements next year. I’ll be pleasantly surprised if we do make progress, but I’m quietly confident we’ll hold onto our standards.

“Lockdown did stall us, but after people started going for walks, spending time in green spaces, allotments and gardens, it’s helped, in a funny kind of way. I’ve accidentally created another community project after helping tidy some woodland and plant a wildflower meadow to help biodiversity and now others are joining in. This has also been the case at Caldershaw Green; there’s so many people wanting to help, we’re thinking of setting up a Friends group.”

Further improvements include Norden village having the chance to win its own gold as it will be entered into the village category, plus the country’s first ever ‘Mosques in Bloom’ with Bilal, Jalalia, Neeli, Golden and Central Mosques taking part in the It’s Your Neighbourhood contest.

Rochdale in Bloom chairman Roy Down confirmed that after checking with Britain In Bloom, that although there have been several individual mosque entries in London and Birmingham, this is the first time there will be a focus on the mosques and their community groups and projects.

An emphasis on social prescribing also features heavily this year – taking a holistic approach to people's health and wellbeing by connecting people from all walks of life to community groups and statutory services for practical and emotional support, such as Petrus.

Rachael Bennion, Petrus service manager, said: “We’re hoping to develop an established network in place to make social prescribing more effective. Gardening is great for your health and wellbeing; if anything, Covid has shown us that. So many people turned to outdoor activities like gardening, walking, and becoming creative which got them through [lockdowns]. That’ll continue because there’s therapeutic value in it and that’s what we’re hoping to achieve by giving people access to projects like Petrus Incredible Edible Rochdale and Rochdale in Bloom.”

Paul Ellison, vice chair of Rochdale in Bloom added: “It’d be fantastic to retain gold. The in bloom contest is something to look forward to and enjoyed by so many volunteers and members of the public.

“A very special thank you goes to our partners, H Bell & Sons, Richard Hagan, Angela Collinge and Andrew Nutter.

“Thanks must go to Rochdale Borough Council, for helping out our community group. Their Environmental Management team do so much in the town centre and on the route. They keep everything looking so wonderfully tidy and inviting with the planters and their displays.”

Rochdale in Bloom is a volunteer-led organisation consisting of various parties including Friends’ of groups, local businesses, local residents and volunteers.

North West in Bloom, run by the Royal Horticultural Society, promotes imaginative planting schemes, landscaping, conservation and recycling projects, and clean-up projects for litter and graffiti.

Judges award points based on three main criteria: horticultural achievement, environmental responsibility and community participation.

Finalists from the North West in Bloom competition get entered into Britain in Bloom, which Rochdale was entered into for the first time in 2018 and won a gold medal.

Senior judges and the chairman of North West in Bloom will be visiting the town on the main judging day, Thursday 5 August. Judges will pass through Rochdale and Norden in early for five days of judging in total.