Shropshire Star

Shropshire villages blossom to take Bloom awards

A village is blooming with pride today after scooping the title of Champion of Champions in the national Britain in Bloom awards.

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Norton-in-Hales, near Market Drayton scooped gold in the village category on top of the prestigious Champion of Champions title at an awards ceremony last night – proving it is one of the cleanest, greenest and most beautiful places in Britain.

The team behind the bid received the accolades at the Royal Horticultural Society UK Finals Awards ceremony, hosted by TV presenter and gardening expert James Alexander-Sinclair.

Malcolm McDonald, secretary for Norton-in-Hales in Bloom, said: "Norton was honoured to be invited to participate in this year's Champion of Champions category.

"And as soon as this challenge was accepted, the committee started planning for success and many new horticultural initiatives were introduced as part of Norton in Bloom's Greener for Life campaign.

"The results on the judging day in August were stunning and comprised not only flowers that had been grown from seed by Bloom group members, but also recycled plants for the benefit of sustainability.

"The village was able to show the judges the results of the efforts of numerous members of the community who helped with the campaign in an enthusiastic and dedicated manner."

But the group could soon have some competition from the Claverley in Bloom group, based near Bridgnorth, which scooped gold in the village category this year.

Rod Parr, chair and secretary for Claverley in Bloom, said: "Being nominated to represent the Heart of England in Bloom region in the 2015 finals could not have been further from our minds when Claverley in Bloom was formed 10 years ago.

"It all seemed a bit daunting but the challenge soon captured the imagination of the local community.

"We are proud to have taken part in the national finals and in particular with our Gold award."

Chairman of the panel Roger Burnett said: "This has been a vintage year for Britain in Bloom with communities across the country coming together to create wonderful floral displays that benefit not just the individuals involved, but their communities and the wider environment.

"The standard of entries this year has been incredibly high."

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