COMMUNITY projects across Northwich have been hailed as blooming marvellous at a regional horticultural awards ceremony.

Held in Southport on November 1, the North West In Bloom Awards saw Northwich once again secure the Silver Gilt in both the Best Large Town and Business Improvement District categories.

Meanwhile, Kingsmead Primary School – which assisted in the overall bid – bagged the Environmental Award for Schools.

As in 2018, Northwich BID oversaw the town's entries with further support from the town council, Lion Salt Works butterfly garden and a range of businesses and community groups.

Initiatives including Love my River Northwich and Grozone Community Garden were pivotal in the town’s efforts too, building a diverse and comprehensive entry.

These included planting initiatives, co-ordinated litter-picks, the installation of floating riverbed habitats and the creation of several rainwater gardens.

Businesses and pubs also got creative with window displays and shop frontages as part of a Northwich In Bloom competition, with Bella Boutique and the Salty Dog among the winners.

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The designs brought colour and creativity to the high street, along with a range of hanging and railing baskets located in the town centre.

Northwich BID manager Jane Hough attended the awards ceremony, and thanked partners and businesses for their help in making Northwich’s entry as broad-ranging as it was.

She said: “To receive the Silver Gilt for a second year running is a great achievement for Northwich and everyone who was involved in the numerous projects which were delivered as part of our entry into North West in Bloom.

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“As with last year, the entry wouldn’t have been as comprehensive as it was without the support, help and ideas from the BID’s partners and businesses.

"Our challenge now is to go one better than Silver Gilt and aim for Gold.”

Northwich BID was overwhelmingly voted in for a second five-year term, BID2, earlier this year.