Congratulations go to Newark for blooming good try in Royal Horticultural Society competition

Newark has been awarded a silver gilt in this year's East Midlands in Bloom, narrowly missing out on gold by the most miniscule of margins.

Newark received the silver gilt award in the Large Town Category, a testament to the dedication of those who have been working so hard towards the campaign this year.

Newark and Sherwood District Council offered its congratulations to those involved in this year's Historic Newark in Bloom for the tremendous achievement in this year’s Royal Horticultural Society competition.

Silver Awards were given to the Castle Barge Pub for Best Pub or Hotel Garden and to Bishops Court for Best Kept Front Garden. The beautiful cottage garden at Newark Parish Church also received a special Judges Award.

Significant points were earned in various areas of the district including:

• The four Green Flag Award parks

• Sconce and Devon Park for the beautiful wildflower area

• Willow Holt for hosting educational classes for schools and Brackenhurst College students.

• Newark Castle and the grounds, along with its rich history

• Special mentions were given to the Hawton Road Allotments and the district council’s street scene team, alongside Lynn and Simon from the environmental services team.

RHS’s annual gardening competition takes place nationwide, with the hope each year it will be used as a tool for building communities and tackling local issues together.

The competition looks to inspire communities across Britain to make positive changes to their local environment through horticultural, environmental and community action.

Keith Girling, chairman of Historic Newark in Bloom and deputy leader of Newark and Sherwood District Council, said: “Well done to all those who have spent their time and effort on this year’s campaign; it is brilliant to see the hard work recognised with the various awards achieved.

“Historic Newark in Bloom is led by a great team of individuals who have worked very hard over the past few months to achieve these awards and volunteered their free time to do so. It has been a pleasure to be part of the experience.”

Roger Jackson, portfolio holder for cleaner, safer, greener at the district council, said: “Taking pride in our community is so important and Historic Newark in Bloom have shown that if we work together, we can make Newark a place that we are not only proud of, but others recognise as exemplary too.

“It is also great to see members of our teams and staff recognised for their contributions, whether it be in months prior to the event or on the judging day itself. We all want to see a Cleaner, Safer, Greener Newark and Sherwood and occasions like this really show the positive impact we can have when we join forces as a District Council and a community.”

The results of this year’s competition were announced at the East Midlands in Bloom 2022 Ceremony Awards at Loughborough Town Hall, Leicestershire.

You can find out more about the Historic Newark in Bloom group through their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/NewarkInBloom.