Gold for Spofforth and Harrogate in the RHS Britain in Bloom Awards 2012

Harrogate, Spofforth and Knaresborough have all received honours in the RHS Britain in Bloom Awards.

RHS Britain in Bloom is the biggest voluntary campaign in the UK and works to improve people’s lives through community gardening.

Matt Baker, presenter of BBC TV’s The One Show, hosted the prestigious RHS Britain in Bloom Award Ceremony held in St Peter Port, Guernsey and attended by 450 community gardening champions.

Harrogate scooped a Gold in the Small City category for 2012

RHS Judge, Jim Goodwin, said:

Harrogate has an excellent floral pedigree and it is developing a good balance between the traditional horticultural displays for which it is noted and more permanent sustainable plantings. The town has a wonderful, well managed tree-scape and many attractive open spaces. The voluntary Harrogate in Bloom group is working well, in partnership with the local Council and businesses to embrace the three core pillars of the competition. Engagement with a range of community/’Friends of’ groups is seeing valuable environmental improvements. It was most pleasing to see the excellent facilities in Valley Gardens being so well used.

More than 1,200 UK communities, from big cities to wee villages, participate each year in the RHS campaign to green-up and clean-up Britain. Of these, just 72 finalists were chosen to represent their region/nation in the UK Finals*. Harrogate represents Yorkshire.

Chair of the RHS Britain in Bloom UK Judging Panel, Roger Burnett, led a team of 14 volunteer judges who toured the UK in July and August visiting each finalist. They marked against three key criteria – horticultural achievement, community participation and environmental responsibility.

Roger said:

We had the privilege and pleasure of visiting the most environmentally aware communities in Britain and meeting the wonderful people responsible for them. The best thing about being a judge is meeting the volunteers. They’re hard-working and resilient – whatever’s thrown at them, whether it’s a hose-pipe ban or flooding, they’ll find a way around it. It’s a hugely comforting thought to know that there are over 200,000 Britain in Bloom volunteers across the UK.

Spofforth scooped a Gold & Category Winner in the Village category

John Stanley, Chairman, Spofforth in Bloom, said:

All here in Spofforth are absolutely thrilled to have won the Village category of the RHS Britain in Bloom National Finals. It means so much to everybody in the community who have put in so much work to make our village a more beautiful, greener and cleaner place to live. The award is a truly wonderful reward for all our hard work. Representing the Yorkshire Region for the finals was a fantastic honour and achievement. I’m so proud of all the community who helped in enabling us to show case our village in this prestigious horticultural campaign. Britain in Bloom is simply all about people and community. People coming together to make their home a better place to live, and I am overwhelmed that our community was acknowledged in this way!

Last year, the RHS released a report demonstrating how RHS Britain in Bloom benefits the physical, social and economic health of the country. It revealed that being involved in the campaign was a key factor in driving visitors and investment into areas, thus improving economic wellbeing. Local businesses flourish, jobs are created and local authorities save a vast amount of money.

RHS Britain in Bloom UK Judging Panel, Roger Burnett added:

We had the privilege and pleasure of visiting the most environmentally aware communities in Britain and meeting the wonderful people responsible for them. The best thing about being a judge is meeting the volunteers. They’re hard-working and resilient – whatever’s thrown at them, whether it’s a hose-pipe ban or flooding, they’ll find a way around it. It’s a hugely comforting thought to know that there are over 200,000 Britain in Bloom volunteers across the UK.

Broughshane, in Northern Ireland, was awarded the ultimate community gardening prize winning the Champion of Champions 2012 award, meaning the town is arguably the cleanest, greenest and most beautiful location in Britain.

A number of discretionary awards were also given to communities and individuals who demonstrated excellence in a particular area of the campaign. These included awards for young people’s involvement, environmental sustainability and community-wide participation, amongst others.

Knaresborough also took a Silver gilt award in the large town category.

RHS Britain in Bloom 2012 National Final Awards:

RHS Britain in Bloom Discretionary Awards: