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Bracknell flowers win again!
08/09/06
The Council and Bracknell Regeneration Partnership (BRP) were celebrating a blooming great victory after again winning best in category in the Britain in Bloom Competition this September.
The borough received the Silver Gilt Award certificate and glass plaque for the large town/small city category of the Thames and Chilterns regional heats at a special ceremony on September 6 at The Olney Centre in Olney, Buckinghamshire. Bracknell also received a Highly Commended certificate for community involvement and a special mention for the DVD presentation to judges.
The result means that this is the fourth year in a row that it has won its category and received a Silver Gilt Award in the competition.
Judges from Thames and Chiltern in Bloom said: “Bracknell Flowers 2006 highlights this entry by its co-ordination with the BRP: its strength was in the breadth of input from different parts of the community.
“A strong floral impact was supported with very strong permanent landscaping, various sustainability initiatives, high local environmental quality and widespread public awareness.
“Also noted was the ‘Take Pride’ campaign. Bracknell Flowers 2006 impressed this years judges who gave it a Silver Gilt Award with 156points just ahead of its rival to win the trophy for the small city category.”
Cllr Iain McCracken, Executive Member for Leisure and Corporate Services, said: “I’m delighted with this fantastic news. The team achieved wonders despite the restrictions this year and all credit must go to Borough staff for their efforts to give us a colourful Town Centre.”
Helen Barnett, Marketing Manager for BRP comments: “This Award recognises the commitment, creativity and pride shown by the entire Bracknell Flowers team. The 2006 campaign owes much of this success to the generous support of Bracknell local businesses – who, with BRP, added 50,000 to the flower pot. Special mention must go to Arlington and Bracknell Town Council.”
Representatives from the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) visited Bracknell Forest in July to judge the borough’s entry for Britain in Bloom. The Bracknell Flowers team, with representatives from the Borough Council, BRP, Bracknell Town Council and local business sponsors hosted the visit, which included a tour of the town and a presentation.
The judges visited the Larges Lane Cemetery, where they met representatives from the Living Churchyards Project. They also went to the underground recycling facility at Bracknell Rugby Club, South Hill Park grounds, Jubilee Gardens, Birch Hill School’s Eco project and Lily Hill Park.
Finally they visited Bracknell town centre to see the impressive flower displays there. Special care was taken this year to accommodate the drought conditions, with drought tolerant plants, water retention granules and irrigation systems used.
Steve McKenna, Landscape Manager for the Council said: “This year the judges gave marks for water conservation measures, so we were keen to demonstrate all the measures we had used, such as watering out of peak sunlight hours, using mediterranean plants that don’t need so much water, such as geraniums, and of course the use of water retention granules.
“The hard work and planning has certainly paid off and I’d like to thank all those involved including the landscape team, partners and community groups: we couldn’t have won without all their input.”
