Page 29 - Real Rochdale Issue 16 Winter 2022

Rochdale sweeps up at Regionals

The regional North West in Bloom competition
consists of two judging days. The first is a guided
in Bloom awards 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.

Planters at The Crown & Shuttle pub
A record number of outstanding entries across
the local In Bloom groups – Rochdale, Norden,
Middleton, Heywood and Pennines – secured
the council, local businesses and the many
community gardeners a very impressive 20
gold awards across the borough.

Rochdale In Bloom
83 awards including eight golds and 48 It’s Your
Neighbourhood entries.

Rochdale was once again chosen as the pick of
the bunch, taking gold and the overall winner Britain in Bloom judges visited The Growth Project
in the ‘small city’ category, plus gold for ‘town
centre’ and the trophy for ‘best town’.

Other superb achievements included the best
Paul Ellison and Louise Scott from Rochdale in Bloom with RHS judges at the WWI Memorial Garden in Rochdale town centre mosque for Jamia Masjid Bilal for the attention
to detail and environmental efforts, plus the best
hospice in the North West for Springhill Hospice,
Rochdale in Bloom scooped gold in the finals 2018. The Rochdale team steamed ahead to take including an outstanding contribution award for
of the Royal Horticultural Society’s Britain in the gold and also best in category in this year’s Nick Dent, head gardener at the hospice who
Bloom competition and was chosen as the best competition with the three other competitors retired last year.
entry in the Small City category, representing in the category taking home silver gilts, the next Elias and Ava Avellanet with Councillor Rachel Massey and
the North West. best on the score chart. Mayor of Rochdale, Ali Ahmed
Heywood In Bloom
19 awards including five golds and nine It’s Your
Finalists were judged according to strengthened This year’s floral designs across the town were Neighbourhood entries.
environmental criteria that encourages groups influenced by the war in Ukraine, planting • Best large park (Queen’s Park) Norden In Bloom
to consider sustainability issues and implement sunflowers along the route, and the Queen’s • Outstanding contribution 2022 (Sandra 12 awards including four golds and five It’s
planet-friendly gardening techniques within Platinum Jubilee. Trickett, who runs the café at Hopwood Park) Your Neighbourhood entries.
their community projects. • Young bloomer of the year (Ava and Elias • Best new landscape (Birtle Brook
For both regional and national comps, the team Village)
Nominated for the Small City category, and up choose a selection of sites for the judges to visit Avellanet) • Best large accommodation (Birtle Brook
against titans Bath, Canterbury and Burton, that showcase the best of Rochdale, but at the Middleton In Bloom Village)
Rochdale in Bloom represented the North West same time meet all aspects of the judging 18 awards including three golds and 13 It’s Your • Best commercial (Pavilion)
nationally, after winning its fifth consecutive gold criteria. Neighbourhood entries.
in the 2021 regional competition. • St Michael’s Garden Gang received a judges’ Pennines In Bloom
However, the national competition is widely discretionary award for all the work they do 24 awards including a silver gilt and 22 It’s
It’s the second time Rochdale has represented acknowledged as being much stricter and with young people Your Neighbourhood entries.
the region at the nationals, taking home gold in expectations and standards are much higher.
• St John’s Thornham PFTA received a schools’ • Outstanding contribution 2022 (Ray
award Smith, chairman of Pennines in Bloom)