Blackpool winners at Northwest in Bloom Awards 2023

Enveco North West Environmental Services picked up the awards on behalf of Blackpool, for Best City and Silver Gilt City in the coastal category at the Northwest in Bloom Awards 2023 ceremony on Thursday 19th October, held at Bolton Arena.

The North West in Bloom competition is part of the wider Britain in Bloom programme which is the UK’s largest community gardening competition delivered by The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS).

The competition focuses on the RHS’s three key themes which are: Horticultural excellence, Community involvement, and Environmental friendliness.

These impressive awards follow on from the recent successful Blackpool in Bloom competition. The judging inspection team, led by Bernard Pendleton (Chair of North West in Bloom), was shown a range of private and community spaces demonstrating the commitment of private residents, volunteers, community groups, and the team from Enveco to create an attractive, clean, tidy and green Town.

The judging tour showcased many of the recent Blackpool in Bloom award winners, along with several community spaces, including; Forget-Me-Not Dementia café, Stanley Park, and Watson Rd Park Secret Garden.
Blackpool parks are maintained by a team of 17 Enveco Gardeners, who all do an incredible job keeping Blackpool’s green open spaces beautiful, with the help of a strong base of committed volunteers who add that extra sparkle.

There was an extra special surprise for Blackpool in Bloom winner Robert Robson, who won the Best Private Front Garden Award in the North West. This was well deserved for all the effort and passion he puts into his beautiful garden, which also has a positive street scene impact.

The award event at Bolton Arena was well attended by Blackpool in Bloom entrants and winners, who along with volunteers from across the North West, were congratulated for their accomplishments and ensured their hard work was recognised and appreciated, as they contribute much to the Town’s beauty by adding extra sparkle.

Chair of Enveco NW Board and Deputy Mayor of Blackpool, Councillor Adrian Hoyle said

“I am absolutely delighted for Blackpool to receive the North West in the Bloom Best City award. The competition provides an independent assessment against similar towns in the ‘City Category’. The award acknowledges the quality street scene standards that Enveco and its network of friends in parks and volunteers carry out on behalf of the Blackpool Council. It is very rewarding to offer an attractive, welcoming, ‘Green and Clean’ environment for all the residents and visitors to enjoy.”

 

Councillor Jane Hugo said

“It was an absolute pleasure to attend the final day of the North West in Bloom awards ceremony with Robert Robson and the Enveco team. We, along with Blackpool Pleasure Beach brought back four awards to Blackpool to add to the amazing total of 16 awards for our town. It’s fantastic to see the efforts of our residents, community groups, businesses, and organisations being recognised for all their hard work and I would like to thank them all for helping make Blackpool a more beautiful and colourful place.”

 

Operation Director for Enveco NW, Jez Evans said
“The Street Scene operations team was delighted to be informed of the Blackpool award which recognises and acknowledges the hard work and community support that goes into keeping the public open space well maintained, clean, and tidy. This year has been a challenge with unseasonal weather conditions at times. Our commitment to present maintained Parks and Open Spaces, including highway verges and street cleaning together with fantastic engagement with an army of committed volunteers has showcased the civic pride in Blackpool.”

Full North West in Bloom Awards 2023 results for Blackpool

  • Blackpool Victoria Hospital, Gold
  • Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Gold
  • Belle View Strawberry Gardens Community Group, Blackpool IYN Neighbourhood Level 5 – Outstanding
  • Chepstow Community Allotments, Blackpool IYN Neighbourhood Level 5 – Outstanding
  • Devonshire Road Rock Garden, Blackpool IYN Neighbourhood Level 5 – Outstanding
  • Enveco NW, Blackpool – Best City
  • Enveco NW, Blackpool – Silver Gilt
  • Friends of Squires Gate Station, Blackpool IYN Railway Station IYN Level 4 – Thriving
  • Fylde Memorial Arboretum and Community Woodland, Blackpool IYN Neighbourhood Level 5 – Outstanding
  • Grow Blackpool The Grange, Blackpool IYN Neighbourhood Level 5 – Outstanding
  • Jubilee Gardens (Gynn Square), Blackpool IYN Neighbourhood Level 4 – Thriving
  • Revoe Community Garden, Blackpool IYN Neighbourhood Level 4 – Thriving
  • Robert Robson, Blackpool – Best Private Front Garden
  • Stanley Park Memorial Garden, Blackpool IYN Neighbourhood Level 5 – Outstanding
  • Urban Organic UK (CIC), Blackpool IYN Hospice/Residential Home Level 5 – Outstanding
  • Watson Road Park Secret Garden, Blackpool IYN Neighbourhood Level 5 – Outstanding

To learn more about Northwest in Bloom awards click here.

Keeping Blackpool Tidy with Travel Village Group and the Royal Caribbean!

Travel Village Group, in collaboration with Royal Caribbean International, took on the sand with on of Enveco’s most recent litter-picking event to Keep Blackpool Tidy!

Enveco’s engagement team, welcomed a group of 30 volunteers to take on the sand to pick up litter on the beach and promenade on Blackpool’s seafront. They had the sun on their side and a team full of joy and enthusiasm for the day ahead.

The Travel Village Group, in collaboration with Royal Caribbean International, came with a mission – their aim was to load two suitcases with litter, which equated to roughly 50kg. This was a harder goal than originally thought – as Enveco’s Street Cleansing team ensures our beaches are as clean as possible. They start cleaning first thing in the morning and then the beach and foot-walks are monitored throughout the day. But with so many visitors the help from these litter-picking events is very important.

But what did they think about the day?

Phil Nuttall, Travel Village Group CEO said: “It’s important for us all to be looking at what we can do to help our planet. We’ve all got to start thinking more responsibly about sustainability, regardless of whether we think we’re having a small or huge impact. The important thing is to do your bit. Whether that’s cycling to work instead of driving, helping local projects like beach cleans, supporting businesses that re-purpose marine waste, or investing in new technologies that reduce pollution and energy consumption. It’s all about ensuring that we leave something better for the next generations.”

These beach litter-picking events are such a vital part to Keep Blackpool Tidy, they boost team bonding as well as showcase the positive impact of teamwork. In turn, they have a big impact on the cleanliness of Blackpool Beach whilst raising awareness of the importance of reducing waste and taking action to look after our environment.

Diane Farley, Neighbourhood Officer at Enveco said “A massive thank you to the team at Travel Village and Royal Caribbean for their time, joy, and effort. A job well done”.

Find out more about our corporate team litter picking events here.