Beverley’s Flemingate centre has claimed two awards in the hotly-contested Yorkshire in Bloom competition.
Beating off stiff competition from centres in Sheffield, Halifax and Keighley, Flemingate took the Gold Award in the Shopping Centres and Retail Parks category as well as receiving the Yorkshire Rose Discretionary Award for the best new entry.
Judges heaped praise on the design of the £120m development for being in keeping with the surrounding buildings and environment. They were also impressed with the “wonderful” setting of the children’s play area, the “original” landscaped borders of lavender and imaginative floral displays cascading from the 80 baskets adorning the centre’s lampposts.
Graham Tait, Flemingate Centre Manager, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to win two awards in this year’s Yorkshire in Bloom competition in our first year. It was a real team effort and everyone is thrilled.
“The awards are a great opportunity to showcase the hard work we put into making Flemingate an attractive destination for local residents and visitors to enjoy. We planted almost 700 plants in our floral displays and they look absolutely stunning.
“Yorkshire in Bloom isn’t just about planting flowers and hanging baskets, it’s also about our responsibility to the local environment. We recycle 95% of Flemingate’s waste and have installed electric car charging points in our car park. The judges recognised all that we do to promote sustainability.
“Yorkshire in Bloom encourages communities to take pride in their local area and to make lasting improvements for the benefit of residents and visitors and we’re proud to be a recognised as playing such a significant part in making Beverley such a lovely place to live, work and visit.”
Judges of the 2016 awards also highlighted the “spotless” environment of the centre, as well as the use of evergreen materials and sustainable planting.
Yorkshire in Bloom is a voluntary regional organisation that represents the Yorkshire region in the Royal Horticultural Society’s Britain in Bloom campaign. The competition is assessed by local judges on criteria developed by the Royal Horticultural Society and standards of Gold, Silver Gilt, Silver and Bronze are awarded in a variety of categories.
The town of Beverley also took gold for the Summer Award in the Yorkshire Rose Large Town/Small City (population 12,000 to 35,000) category, with the judges praising Beverley Town Council and the ‘Beverley in Bloom’ group for continuing to make a difference with beautiful floral displays around the town.
The Flemingate development – Beverley’s largest-ever regeneration scheme – includes big-name brands such as River Island, Debenhams and H&M and is also home to the East Riding College campus, an 80-bed Premier Inn hotel and six-screen digital cinema, Parkway.
