Flower Power! Blackburn celebrates triple award success with Britain in Bloom

Blackburn was celebrating for the third year running when the town won three awards at the NW Britain in Bloom Awards, which were hosted in Southport on Friday 2nd November.

The success of the partnership between Blackburn Business Improvement District (BID) and Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council was recognised with Gold Medals in the Town / City Centre and BID Categories. Blackburn also scooped top honours for Best Business Improvement District.

Judges from the Royal Horticultural Society visited the town in the summer at the height of the long, hot spell and were impressed by the standards of the planting across the town despite the challenge of keeping everything watered and in full bloom through the blazing heat.

Judges were also impressed by local business involvement in making the town greener and cleaner with additional planting schemes as well as volunteer clean-up initiatives.

Nicola Clayton, Chair of Blackburn BID, said: “To be recognised three years in a row is a fantastic achievement for the town. Working in partnership with the Council’s dedicated gardeners, our businesses and volunteers has shown what can be achieved. We are incredibly proud.

“2018 was a challenging year for the teams in the town centre due to the heat and lack of rain and to attain such standards again is outstanding.”

Councillor Phil Riley, Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council’s Executive Member for Regeneration and Growth said: “It’s terrific news that Blackburn has won a hat trick of top awards at Britain in Bloom and been recognised for the third year in a row.

“This is testament to the hard work of the council’s team of town centre gardeners and those at the BID – all of whom work tirelessly to make sure Blackburn town centre is a fantastic place to live, work, visit and shop.

“Our talented gardeners were particularly up against it this year as the temperatures soared over the summer months and it became a constant battle to keep everything watered and in full bloom. They all worked incredibly hard and these awards are very much deserved.

“The town has undergone a massive transformation of late with regeneration still on-going right across Blackburn.

“Awards like these are a fantastic boost for the whole town and I’d again like to congratulate everyone involved.”

The businesses who are members of the Blackburn BID fund the additional floral displays and their maintenance which have brightened the town for the last few years.

Above: (L-R) Eddie Maxwell, Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council – Green Space Manager, Clare Turner, Town Centres and Markets Manager, Councillor Phil Riley, Executive Member for Regeneration and Growth, Ian Leach and Tony Farrell, Town Centre Gardening Team, Katherine Wheatley, BID Board Member and Malcolm Ingham, Blackburn Horticultural Society.

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October 2023