Congleton solid gold and a whisker away from being crowned champions at the Britain in Bloom Finals
Congleton in Bloom received gold across all the categories and came ‘within a whisker’ of being the overall group champions at the 2018 National Finals of the Britain in Bloom competition. Perth, in Scotland, was crowned the champions of the large town group and will now be entered into the champion of champions category for 2019.
Five members of the In Bloom team went to the prestigious national awards finals held in Belfast on Friday 19th October and to the follow-up feedback session with the national judges on Saturday 20th. The judges were full of praise for Congleton giving it gold in all three categories; horticultural achievement, environmental responsibility and community participation and complimenting the town on its passion for In Bloom. This is the first time that Congleton has received gold at a national level across all three groups. Congleton was also awarded a top three place across all 76 finalists for ‘Involving children and young people.’
Congleton in Bloom Chairman, Councillor David Brown said: “It’s an amazing achievement and we are absolutely delighted. We have received gold on the national stage three times in five years. That is remarkable! To be a whisker away from winning the best large town in the UK category is a huge credit to all those involved. As a town we really did pull out all the stops, and despite the scorching summer and being just days away from a hosepipe ban, we managed to keep all the plants alive and we received some great compliments from visitors and residents for the parks, roundabouts, hanging baskets and troughs.”
“As always, it’s been a huge community effort and the town has benefited from looking magnificent. We have represented the North West in the national finals three times in the past five years and have really established Congleton’s place as a top In Bloom town.”
“I would like to thank everyone that worked so hard to achieve this award for Congleton and to all the businesses and individuals that supported the campaign. There will be a celebration and awards ceremony in the Town Hall on Tuesday 13th November to thank all of those involved.”
Congleton will find out the results of the regional competition on Friday 2nd November and the Cheshire Community Pride Awards on the 1st November. The nine Its Your Neighbourhood results will be announced on the 1st November.
Congleton represented the North West in the highly competitive large town category, which is open to towns with a population of 12,001 to 35,000. The town will not be able to enter the National finals in 2019, regardless of the results of the regional competition.
