Oadby and Wigston fly the flag for the East Midlands

Posted: Thu, 3 Aug 2017 15:53

Oadby and Wigston fly the flag for the East Midlands

The Oadby and Wigston's Pride of the Borough group, who work in partnership with Oadby & Wigston Borough Council, have been preparing the borough to look its best for this year's Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Britain in Bloom Finals competition.

One of only 79 finalists vying to win a coveted Gold medal and be crowned one of the cleanest, greenest and most beautiful places in the UK, Oadby and Wigston have been shortlisted to represent the East Midlands in the Small City Category - back in contention for a coveted prize for the first time since 2011.

On Wednesday 2 August, the RHS Britain in Bloom judges will descend and tour a carefully selected route to observe the very best the borough has to offer - ending at the renowned University of Leicester Botanic Gardens in Oadby.

Based on the experience of winning previous awards, plus the hard work and expertise of the Pride of the Borough group, volunteers means that anticipation and confidence is high. After the judging has taken place, the group will have a nervous wait to discover their fate - as the winners will be announced at the Britain in Bloom awards ceremony in Llandudno, North Wales on 27 October.

Oadby & Wigston Borough Cllr David Carter said: "It is a huge honour to be invited to represent the East Midlands region. Many hours of work has gone into preparing for the judges visit, to win would be a fantastic reward for this effort and the other work that the Pride of the Borough group do throughout the year."

Pride of the Borough (Oadby and Wigston) brings together many volunteers and groups who carry out a variety of environmentally based projects throughout the year, including maintaining neighbourhood greens, tree and bulb planting and litter picking. During the past year, the group has organised the planting of over 20 thousand bulbs and 100 trees in public open spaces. It is estimated over 11,750 volunteer hours have been given in the past 12 month alone!

Simon Lucas, Chair of Pride of the Borough for Oadby and Wigston said: "These competitions are great for raising our profile – as our aim has always been to get the whole community involved, whether you're a beginner gardener or a seasoned expert.

"Even just adding a few plants to your front garden, planting up a container or picking up litter on your street can make a big difference to making the borough of Oadby and Wigston a greener and more pleasant place to live."

For further details of the group's activities go to: www.prideoftheborough.org

Tags: Active Lifestyle, Gardening, News