Heywood in Bloom win gold at North West in Bloom

Heywood in Bloom has been awarded five gold awards for this year’s North West in Bloom competition.

Heywood’s accolades included a gold medal in the ‘town centre’ and ‘large town’ categories whilst Queen’s Park took gold for best ‘large park’ with the judges remarking on its well-kept gardens.

An extra surprise was a well-deserved overall award for the Heywood book, which received ‘best feature in a public place’. This special award saw the group presented with a Gold certificate and beautiful rose bowl.

The judges were impressed by the centre of Heywood, including the memorial gardens and recently upgraded space outside the Civic and Phoenix centres. The Old Police Station and Business Centre also took gold in the ‘small commercial’ category, with gold again awarded to Heywood Distribution Park in the ‘large commercial' category.

Ellen Wintle-Yates, chair of Heywood in Bloom, said: “After a tough lockdown, it’s been a joy to return to helping to provide lovely outdoor spaces. People have really appreciated the flower displays this year. Heywood in Bloom are looking forward to continuing to expand our public areas.

“Heywood in Bloom would like to thank all those involved in putting this event together so that our presentation could still go ahead.

“We would like to thank all of our volunteers, the council and all the council employees for their ongoing commitment to ensuring our town continues to blossom. Plans are now underway for next year’s 2022 In Bloom.”

 

 

The regional North West in Bloom competition consists of two judging days. The first is a guided tour taking in areas of interest; the second allows for visits to community-based projects – ‘It’s Your Neighbourhood’ – that include local schools, allotments, health and well-being projects and conservation areas.

All entries in the It’s Your Neighbourhood Awards received a Level 4 Thriving: the fire station, Heywood Railway Station (East Lancs Railway) and the In Bloom community allotment.

Councillor Liam O’Rourke, cabinet member for the environment, said: “This was another top-class triumph for our brilliant In Bloom groups and our hard-working teams who all deserve this ultimate recognition. They have literally pulled out all the stops even through recent tough times to still bring this haul of gold medals and additional entries this year.

“What a credit these blooming amazing community groups are, working alongside the council to achieve such high standards. This collaborative success, working with schools, resident groups and local businesses has meant we continue to be a borough to be proud of, and I thank every single person who has contributed to this outstanding victory.”  

The awards were presented by Bernard Pendleton, chairman of North West in Bloom, at an awards ceremony at Number One Riverside, Rochdale, on Thursday 4 November.