A Shropshire business leader has described a recent episode of the BBC Two ‘Britain in Bloom’ television series featuring Shrewsbury as the best advert for the town in his memory.
Presented by Chris Bavin, the series follows 15 communities involved in the annual floral competition, which takes place across towns and village throughout the UK. The series was filmed last year.
Shrewsbury, a gold award winner, was featured on April 18 and among the people interviewed were Margaret Thrower, daughter of Britain’s first celebrity gardener Percy Thrower, town clerk Helen Ball and Gary Farmer, head of operations.
Mr Bavin discovered that Shrewsbury had been participating in the competition for 37 years. Backed by the town council, the gold-winning team plant a staggering 300,000 flowers every year in their town.
The jewel in their crown is The Dingle, a sunken garden in the middle of the town park. Every year, the team is under pressure to create a show-stopping garden to wow the judges.
Mr Bavin was filmed helping the residents of a sheltered housing scheme on the edge of town to plant up their own sustainable garden.
Tony Bywater, a Shrewsbury in Bloom Committee member and chairman of caravan and motorhome dealership Salop Leisure at Emstrey, is delighted with the way the town was promoted in the programme.
“I think it’s the best advert for Shrewsbury that I can ever remember,” he said. “Great credit must go to the town council, everyone in the parks department and everyone who was interviewed on the programme for the way Shrewsbury was portrayed.
“I am sure that the programme will attract many more tourists into Shrewsbury who will spend money in the local shops and businesses and increase the town’s prosperity.
“Shrewsbury in Bloom brings the local community, town council and businesses to work together for the benefit of the town. I encourage everyone to keep up the good work to maintain the high standards that we all enjoy in Shrewsbury.”
