Witney scooped two awards in the Thames and Chilterns regional In Bloom Awards this year. The Town retained its Silver Status while The Leys Recreation Park was awarded Gold. The Leys was entered as a separate category; Parks and Open Spaces, for the first time, this year.
The Schools Challenge run by Witney Town Council every year forms part of the town’s entry and this year was no exception, with colourful wheelbarrows on display outside the Corn Exchange throughout the summer.
The awards, run by Britain in Bloom in association with The RHS, are intended to encourage local communities to improve and care for their local environment through gardening and conservation projects and to promote civic pride.
John Hickman, Operations & Estates officer; Cllr Joy Aitman, Deputy Mayor.
Judges made their decisions in July this year but the results were announced at the end of September.
The Leys was up against five other parks and was the only Gold winner.
Judges said, “What a delight it was to see a play area and all its facilities being used and enjoyed by all ages. It really felt that the community love being there and that staff really enjoy looking after the park.”
The marks awarded for the criteria scored us 26 out of 30 and were as follows:
Community 8
Maintenance 9
Environment 9
The judges commented on other aspects that they really liked and these included facilities for a wide range of activities and hobbies across age groups, the splash play which was being well used on such a hot day, good tree maintenance, the new war memorial and the bee friendly planting.
They also commented on areas for development and gave constructive advice on continuing to replace old bins with recycling bins, considering accessible picnic benches when these need replacement and some bulb or wild flower planting around tree bases to add colour.
Deputy Mayor, Cllr. Joy Aitman who attended the awards ceremony with Cllr. Melanie Jones and Jess Bailey, Witney Town Council’s grounds contract supervisor; said;
“I was filled with pride collecting our certificates on behalf of the town. It was a project that brought lots of groups of people together to share their skills, expertise and community spirit. Next year we can build on this and look forward to hearing from interested parties who would like to be involved. “
The awards reflect the hard work and efforts of staff, community volunteers and of all those involved in the care and maintenance of the planting around the town and the facilities at the Leys.
