Guildford Borough Council is delighted to announce that Guildford has been awarded the Silver Gilt at this year’s South East in Bloom competition. There were over 400 entrants in this year’s awards which were presented by celebrity gardener Chris Collins (pictured above) at Brighton & Hove Albion’s American Express Community Stadium.
Cllr Jen Powell, Chairman of the Guildford in Bloom Committee, was awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award for her hard work as Chairman since 1987 as seen in the picture at the top.
She commented, “Guildford’s award-winning town centre has helped us secure this Silver Gilt Award. We are extremely proud to have such enthusiastic community groups, local businesses and a dedicated team at Guildford Borough working so hard to help us achieve this success”.
The hanging baskets and floral displays around the town, as well as the well-designed and planted castle grounds and war memorial planting (pictured below) were among the highlights that led to the town receiving this award.
The judges were particularly captivated by the ‘impressive castle grounds’ and they made comments regarding Guildford like ‘[it is] a tidy and colourful town with lots of history and interest’ and ‘the link with community groups is very good with special mention to the Glade volunteers; a great initiative within the town’. Finally, they wanted to commend the time and dedication of Cllr Jen Powell by saying, ‘the efforts of Jen Powell must be commended for her time and hard work since 1987′.
The Guildford in Bloom initiative is part of Guildford Borough Council’s commitment to improving residents’ local surroundings, by focusing on issues that matter most to them such as a cleaner, safer and greener environment.