Blooming marvellous work!

3 Dec 2021 04:32
Published by: Scott Callan

ROCHDALE really was the pick of the bunch in this year's North West in Bloom Awards.

An impressive 16 gold awards were won across the borough and were presented at a special ceremony at Number One Riverside in Rochdale.

Heywood collected five gongs, including a gold medal for 'large town'. The Heywood in Bloom group was awarded for the best town centre and the Friends of Queen's Park took gold for best large park.

An extra surprise was a well-deserved overall award for 'best feature in a public place'.

The judges were impressed by the memorial gardens and recently upgraded space outside the Civic and Phoenix centres.

The Old Police Station and Business Centre also took gold in the small commercial category, with gold again awarded to Heywood Distribution Park in the large commercial category.

Other accolades included eight gold medals across Rochdale, Pennines and Norden, with Rochdale taking gold for the best town centre.

The Rochdale in Bloom group were judged gold winners for the best small city, alongside Middleton in Bloom, who achieved a gold medal in the same category.

Middleton's Jubilee Park won gold in the small parks category and Middleton Town Centre Management claimed gold in the best town centre category.

The best town centre in the North West went to Rochdale in Bloom.

A new entry this year saw judges visit five Rochdale mosques for the Maskids in Bloom initiative. Supported by Rochdale Council of Mosques, the five masjids - Neeli, Central, Golden, Jalalia and Bilal were visited - with Bilal taking top spot.

The Baum pub in Rochdale and Nutter's restaurant won gold for the small accommodation award. Healey Dell Heritage Centre and Tea Rooms took the gold top spot for small tourist attraction and Norden's Jubilee Par claimed gold in the best pocket park category.

Norden in Bloom, which entered as a stand-alone village this year, captivated visiting judges claiming a best newcomer award and a gold medal for large village.

There were also awards for delightful displays and high levels of maintenance at Denehurst Park, taking a silver gift award in the large park category.

Kirkholt also took a silver gift in the urban community award and Stoney Hill community wildlife area took the best biodiversity award.

Zen Internet took gold for best small industrial park and Luca Higginson won the young bloomer of the year prize.

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