National contest judges to visit village (From Craven Herald)

National contest judges to visit village

5:00pm Thursday 2nd August 2012 in News By Newsdesk

While British sportsmen and women battle it out in London today, Addingham will be going for gold in its own right, with its first entry in the Britain in Bloom competition.

Judges from the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) will be scrutinising the village’s cleanliness, environmental awareness and community-wide gardening efforts this morning.

Although Addingham has long been a strong competitor in the regional Yorkshire in Bloom competition, it has never before been in the national contest.

Addingham will fly the flag for Yorkshire in the Small Town category, competing with Sedgefield in County Durham, Wimbourne in Dorset, Woodstock in Oxfordshire and Ahoghill in Northern Ireland.

Voluntary group Addingham Garden Friends, which will take the judges on their tour of the village, say intensive efforts have been put in to ensure the village meets the RHS’s wide-ranging criteria.

A group spokesperson said: “The judges’ primary concern will be how well plants are chosen, located and maintained in the variety of small public gardens and open spaces throughout the village. However, they will also evaluate the overall appearance of Addingham, evidence of a responsible attitude to the environment, and indications that the whole community has been involved.”