Shropshire Star

Love Your Neighbourhood Awards for Oswestry

An apple orchard, a walled garden and a town park all scooped special awards in an offshoot of Britain in Bloom.

Published
Winners of Britain in Bloom's Love Your neighbourhood awards, representatives from Derwen College, Cambrain Railway Orchard Project and Cae Glas Park

After the Heart of England in Bloom judges toured Oswestry for the main competition in the summer, they then went to see individual entrants in a Love Your Neighbourhood competition.

Now it has been revealed that Oswestry was not only awarded gold in the main, large town regional competition, there were also special awards in the neighbourhood categories.

One of those recognised in Love Your Neighbourhood was a true community project.

The Cambrian Railway Orchard scheme is a piece of land that runs alongside the old railway tracks on the Gobowen Road out of Oswestry.

Over the last eight years it has been transformed into a haven of apple and pear trees and soft fruit bushes.

Volunteers care for the land and many young people have learnt horticultural skills while giving up their time to work there.

Another special award went to the Derwen college for its walled garden.

The college near Oswestry gives students with learning difficulties and disabilities education and work experience training. As well as a full garden centre and farm shop that are open to the public the college also has a walled garden where students can also learn horticultural skills.

A third special award when to the Oswestry Cae Glas Park.

The park keeper and the chairman of the Oswestry Town Council committee that cares for the park, Councillor Sandy Best, recently celebrated their success with the presentations of their certificates.

Councillor Best said: "Each of these projects thoroughly deserved their award. The community orchard is a fantastic project for the people of Oswestry and I take my hat off to Derwen College for the work it does for the students.

"And of course I can't praise the staff at the park enough. They work so hard throughout the year and honestly, the park is a joy.

"I never hear anything negative about the park, it is so bright and cheerful and certainly attracts visitors to the town."