Flower tour whets judges’ appetites

The judges for the South & South East In Bloom competition have visited Christchurch to assess the borough for a new category of the awards.

This year for the first time Christchurch Council has entered the town in the ‘Best Coastal Town’ category and the judges, Susan Smith and John Lockwood were looking not only at the floral displays but were also considering much wider aspects including community involvement, sustainability and recycling.

The Council’s Countryside & Open Spaces Manager, Clive Sinden and Tourism Manager, Ann Simon took the judges on a tour of the borough which included visits to Mudeford Quay, Avon Beach and Friars Cliff Beach, where they were impressed by the new RNLI lifeguard service. They also went to Highcliffe Castle, Christchurch Quay and Stanpit Marsh, where they said the new Information Centre was a highpoint of their visit.

Susan Smith said: “The Information Centre is marvellous because it addresses the issue of sustainability, which is one of the things we’re looking at, not just the flowers. We were also very impressed by the work done by the Friends of Christchurch Station as it is all very good quality and lifts the image of the station.

“We are pleased that the green waste is now collected in compostable paper sacks as this is a very important part of our campaign. We would also like to congratulate the residents and businesses for their participation in making the town look so colourful, particularly the commercial businesses who have done a good job in a recession.

“Finally, we would like to thank Southern Water for their sponsorship of the awards - without them the campaign would not exist.”