Beverleyโs 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 ยฃ120m development for being in keeping with the surrounding buildings and environment. They were also impressed with the โwonderfulโ setting of the childrenโs play area, the โoriginalโ landscaped borders of lavender and imaginative floral displays cascading from the 80 baskets adorning the centreโs lampposts.
Graham Tait, Flemingate Centre Manager, said: โWeโre absolutely delighted to win two awards in this yearโs Yorkshire in Bloom competition in our first year. It was a real team effort and everyone is thrilled.
โThe 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.
โYorkshire in Bloom isnโt just about planting flowers and hanging baskets, itโs also about our responsibility to the local environment. We recycle 95% of Flemingateโs waste and have installed electric car charging points in our car park. The judges recognised all that we do to promote sustainability.
โYorkshire in Bloom encourages communities to take pride in their local area and to make lasting improvements for the benefit of residents and visitors and weโre proud to be a recognised as playing such a significant part in making Beverley such a lovely place to live, work and visit.โ
Judges of the 2016 awards also highlighted the โspotlessโ 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 Societyโs 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 โBeverley in Bloomโ group for continuing to make a difference with beautiful floral displays around the town.
The Flemingate development โ Beverleyโs largest-ever regeneration scheme โ 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.
