Organisers of Blackburn in Bloom are keeping their green fingers crossed that they have impressed judges enough to scoop a fourth gold in the Britain In Bloom horticultural competition.
The Blackburn In Bloom team gave the judges of the highly renowned competition a tour of the town centre on Thursday, taking in the sights and scents of the brightly coloured flowers, planters and hanging baskets adorning the streets.
Blackburn hopes it can retain its run of gold awards, after scooping the top prize in its category for the last three years. This year, the town has once again entered the ‘town centre’ and ‘BID’ categories.
The Royal Horticultural Society judges visited various locations including the Cathedral Gardens, Church Street, Northgate, Exchange Garden Urban Park and Fleming Square’s Italianate Garden, paying particular attention to three key criteria: community participation, environmental responsibility, and horticultural achievement.
The Council’s green team have been working tirelessly to look after the displays, ensuring that they are watered and fed during the growing season.
The scheme was supported financially by Blackburn Business Improvement District (BID) who have funded additional floral displays and their maintenance.
Catherine Price, Blackburn BID Manager, said:
We want to attract more people into the town centre and we are doing that by making sure it looks beautiful. One of the priorities for Blackburn BID is to create a greener, cleaner area. We are incredibly proud of what Blackburn In Bloom has achieved. It has been a real team effort between all the partner organisations and the Council’s dedicated gardeners.
It goes to show what can be achieved when we work together.
Clare Turner, Development Manager at Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, submitted this year’s entry.
She added:
Footfall in town centres across the country is decreasing so we need to make Blackburn as beautiful as it can to help attract visitors. Creating this kind of environment is incalculable in terms of how people perceive the town and driving additional footfall.
The winners are expected to be announced in October