At the Communities in Bloom 2011 awards ceremony held in Quebec City, Canada on the 29th October, Lytham was awarded the highest mark of "5 Blooms". The judges were particularly impressed with the town's environmental awareness and the work of the beach clean up campaigners and the restoration of coastal habitats and dune building. 

Congratulations to Freckleton for winning a Silver Gilt award at Britain in Bloom 2011.

 

Lytham in Bloom's annual Local Community Awards Prize giving ceremony was held at the Clifton Arms Hotel on Thursday 22nd September. Over one hundred people attended and the Mayor of Fylde Borough Council Councillor Howard Henshaw presented cups and certificates to the winners of 18 different categories. The full list of winners can be found on the Local Community Awards page. 

 

Judging has taken place for Lytham's participation in North West in Bloom and in the international competition Communities in Bloom. Lytham hopes to win its category in North West in Bloom this year and then hopes to be invited to participate in Britain in Bloom 2012 which will coincide with the Fylde hosting the 2012 Open Golf Championship.

 

Also in July Lytham in Bloom produced a 10 minute video of Lytham as a promotional tool for all to use. The film can be accessed on www.youtube.com and search "Lytham" and look for the Lytham Hall picture with Huckleberry Films as the editors or click this link.

 

Lytham in Bloom's annual coffee morning is being held at 10-00 on Saturday 21st May at the Assembly Rooms, Dicconson Terrace, Lytham. This year we have taken two rooms due to the high demand last year. There will be stalls selling plants, cakes, bric a brac, raffle and tombola.

 

Children, parents and staff at St. Peter's Primary School together with Lytham in Bloom volunteers spent Saturday morning 7th May planting trees and shrubs and clearing a woodland walk at the school. The previous week a working party from Kirkham Open prison has cleared a bed of tree roots reading for planting.

 

The spring floral displays in the Memorial Gardens are particularly impressive this year and as always the daffodils bring a little sunshine to everyones lives

 

Lytham invited to participate in the international competition "Communities in Bloom" in 2011.

 

Congratulations to the Friends of the Estuary who have won two awards in November - North West Coastal Excellence Award and a Green Award presented by the Lancashire Evening Post.

A further 30,000 daffodil bulbs have been planted on Lytham Green and some 18,000 crocus bulbs have been planted at the Rotary Club beds on the Preston Road entrance to Lytham. We are grateful to the lads from Kirkham Prison for all their hard work.

As reported on the Home Page, Lytham had an extremely successful night at the North West in Bloom awards ceremony in Southport on the 21st October.

Lytham presented with a Gold Award at the Britain in Bloom finals ceremony held in Birmingham on the 29th September. The certificate will be on display in the front window of Fachino in Park Street for some weeks and then at the Clifton Arms Hotel.

Lytham in Bloom held its annual Local Community Awards presentation evening at the Clifton Arms Hotel on the 23rd. Over 100 people attended with the Mayor and Mayoress of the Fylde, Councillors Elizabeth Oades and Councillor Heather Speak presenting the awards. See the page on Local Community Awards for more information and phorographs.

The judging for our Local Community Awards has taken place and the prize-giving ceremony will be held at the Clifton Arms Hotel towards the end of September attended by the Mayor of Fylde, Councillor Liz Oades. There are 16 categories this year for private households and businesses in addition to the sunflower competition for children (see the page - Local Community Awards for more information). Potential award winners will be notified by letter and invited to attend the prize giving. Final decisions on the prize winners was taken by Bernard Pendleton, a lecturer at Myerscough College and also a North West in Bloom judge.

The Britain in Bloom judges visited Lytham on Tuesday 10th August and were given a three guided tour. The initial feedback is very positive but the results will not be known until 29th September. Lytham is attempting to better the silver gilt awarded to it by Britain in Bloom 2009. The picture shows judge Rae Beckwith (second left) with Martin Harrison and Luke (right) from St. Bede's School and Peter McDonald (left) being briefed on the development of the allotment at St. Bede's.

Lytham was judged by the North West in Bloom regional judges on Wednesday 21st July. The results of this competition will not be known until October, but the judges appeared to be impressed by what they saw and by the people they met along the route. The floral windmill (sponsored by the Halls of Staining Road Nurseries) in the town centre attracted particular attention as did the displays in the planters and hanging baskets.

The refurbished Library Gardens were officially opened on Friday 16th July by the Deputy Mayor Barbara Pagett in a ceremony attended by Lytham Rotary, Glasdon Group Limited, SITA, Kirkham Open Prison and the Garden Doctor (Natasha Dervish) all of whom had contributed to the success of the project.

 

 

The official opening of the new play area in Lowther Gardens took place on the 6th July. The Deputy Mayor Councillor Barbara Pagett and Councillor Sue Fazackerly made speeches to a large gathering. The play area was paid for mainly with a grant from the Lottery Heritage Fund.

Many congratulations to St. Bede's Catholic High School who have been adjudged by the Times Educational Supplement (www.tes.co.uk/awards) to be the Outstanding Sustainable School in the UK beating off competition from other short-listed schools in Glasgow, Cornwall, Northumberland, Hertfordshire and Northern Ireland. The judges highlighted the installation of a ground-source heat pump and no fewer than 99 solar panels which transformed an energy-inefficient 1960's block into a model of eco-refurbishment. The school has redeveloped its grounds into an educational resource to teach pupils about climate, agriculture, biodiversity, creating allotments, planting an orchard and introducing composting bins and water butts. This summer it will begin to construct a geodesic "solardome" on which it is working with the Eden Project.

 

The results of our "Hanging Basket" campaign are now showing around the town centre. Businesses - shops, bars, restaurants - have been very supportive in buying hanging baskets to our design so that the floral displays in the town centre this summer will look coordinated and hopefuuly stunning. The floral displays to be provided by Fylde Borough Council and Lytham in Bloom in Clifton Square (Piazza) in the planters and in other hanging baskets will match those supplied to the businesses.