City scoops gold Heart of England in Bloom award
Released: 11 September 2008
Wolverhampton was basking in glory today (Thursday) after scooping a gold award in this year’s prestigious Heart of England in Bloom contest.
Hundreds of residents, school pupils and local businesses supported Wolverhampton’s bid – entitled Floral City – and their efforts were rewarded with the top prize.
The city’s Mayor Councillor Christine Mills, who received the award on behalf of Wolverhampton at a special ceremony in Burton-on-Trent this morning, said: “I am proud to be associated with this campaign.
“Wolverhampton has looked wonderful this summer with its colourful floral displays and banners around the city centre.
“I would like to thank the residents, schools and businesses for their support and I hope that this will inspire more people to become involved next year – it is this kind of enthusiasm which creates pride in our city and long may it continue.”
Heart of England in Bloom judges visited Wolverhampton in July to inspect the handiwork of green-fingered gardeners who had been busy brightening up their borders over the previous few months.
Members of the local community threw their weight behind the bid, while gardeners from the city council’s Streetscene Services put more than 230,000 spring and summer bedding plants and 74,000 bulbs into flower beds across the city.
Meanwhile, gardeners young and old entered a series of competitions with the winners collecting their prizes at a ceremony at last weekend’s Sandy Lane Allotments and Gardeners’ Association Annual Show.
The theme of this year’s competition was Local Roots and judges were looking out for displays which reflected Wolverhampton’s unique history and cultural diversity. The city faced an anxious two-month wait before finding out that it had scooped its first ever gold award after picking up silver or silver gilt for the last two years.
Barbara Kay, Head of Development and Tourism and chair of the Floral City Group which coordinated Wolverhampton’s bid, said: “I am so pleased we impressed the judges enough for a gold award this year.
“We have been successful in gaining support from residents, schools and businesses and this award is as much for them as for anyone else.”
She thanked a organisations including Waitrose, Enterprise, Allseasons Garden Store, the Allotments and Gardeners’ Association and many other small businesses for their support, saying: “I would personally like to thank them for backing our bid which went a long way to gaining us this coveted gold award we so desperately wanted to win.
“We have now laid down a marker and our next challenge is to ensure we retain our gold award in 2009’s contest.”
Issued by the press office.