Partnership celebrates double win at Heart of England in Bloom Awards
A blooming brilliant collaboration involving the council has come up smelling of roses in a prestigious horticultural competition.
Newcastle-under-Lyme Business Improvement District (BID) – in partnership with Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council – is the proud winner of the BID category title, also winning gold, for the second consecutive year.
This builds on a hugely successful 2024 campaign when the town also received the Mike Garwood Memorial Trophy for Queens Gardens and was selected to represent the region at a national level.
Heart of England in Bloom is the regional element of the Royal Horticultural Society's Britain in Bloom campaign and judges far more than flowers. The criteria spans horticultural excellence, environmental responsibility, biodiversity, sustainability, cleanliness and community participation, perfectly aligning with the BID’s vision to create an attractive, animated and welcoming town centre.
This year’s judging route showcased a cross-section of the town’s people and places, beginning at Brampton Museum with Giggles & Wiggles nursery children in the sensory garden, moving through Brampton Park and into the town centre to see flora and fauna roundabout sculptures created by apprentices as part of a sustainable landscaping project. Judges also visited creative projects including Rob Fenton’s market mural on Hassell Street, the "Our Castle" photography project with NSCG Level 3 BTEC Photography and Digital Media students and the Castle Flags competition which transforms the town into an open-air gallery. The tour concluded in the award-winning Queens Gardens, home to vibrant summer planting and the Queen Elizabeth II statue created by local artist Andy Edwards.
The national judging awards ceremony takes place on Friday, 31 October in Brighton.
Cllr. Craig Skelding, Borough Cabinet member for Leisure, Culture and Heritage, said:
We are incredibly proud that Newcastle-under-Lyme BID has once again been recognised in this way – on a regional stage – following three decades of sustained success under the council’s stewardship.
This fantastic achievement reflects the outstanding collaboration between the BID team, council, local businesses and community volunteers to make our town centre a greener, more welcoming place for everyone. Following last year’s gold award and category win, we now look forward to finding out the results of the national competition next week.”
BID Manager, Charl Pearce said:
It’s great to be recognised among such strong entrants. Last year was our first year in the BID category and set a high bar and it was fantastic to again tour the judges around Newcastle-under-Lyme and showcase the brilliant work we deliver with the Borough Council team, our community groups, businesses and partners.”
BID Co Chair, Nigel Davies added:
It’s fantastic to see Newcastle-under-Lyme BID win Gold and the overall BID category for the second year running. It’s a brilliant achievement and great recognition for the town, showcasing what strong partnership working between the BID, the Borough Council and our community can achieve.”