Bloomin’ Wonderful Result

The efforts of the Castle Bromwich Community Project to restore the closed graveyard have paid off with an excellent first time result in the Royal Horticultural Society Britain in Bloom Competition. Members are celebrating after receiving a Thriving Award in this year’s Heart of England in Bloom – It’s Your Neighbourhood Awards category.

Representatives of the group were given the Red Carpet treatment when they attended the awards ceremony in Solihull to be told of the result. RHS Assessors Robin Russell and Ken Whittaker highlighted the group’s achievements in what they described as a massive challenge which had been community lead from day one. The graveyard has now been cleared of decades of overgrowth, graves uncovered, water restored and newly planted flower beds make a colourful addition to the site.

Terrie Knibb, Chairman of the Castle Bromwich Community Project said: “We could not have achieved this fantastic result without the many community groups and residents who have got involved. The judges were particularly impressed by the large number of local young people who joined in to help often giving up their school holidays. This shows how much local residents care about our community and want to help improve the area. There’s still much to be done, but this is a great start.”

The awards are supported by Marches Housing Association and Managing Director Phil Green said: “We continue to be delighted and surprised by the quality and quantity of entries. So much hardwork and determination goes into creating gardens and projects that not only look beautiful but have also been about communities coming together and caring for their local area.”