Blooming great boost on trail of gold

A £2,000 grant from Fylde’s Communities Project Fund has paid for a shiny new trailer – and it will be used to support the group’s activities as it aims to regain a North West In Bloom gold award.

Supplied by Fylde based company Smalley’s of Warton, the trailer has been provided with signage by St Annes company Adam’s Signs and was presented to the group by Coun Peter Hardy in one of his last acts as Fylde mayor before being succeeded this week by Coun Christine Akeroyd.

It will be used to transport items such as plant containers and compost and on clear-up days when the group tackle some of the town’s ‘grot spots’.

St Annes In Bloom chairman Fiona Boismaison who submitted the successful bid said, “We are very much a ‘hands-on’ group, growing and nurturing lots of our own plants so being able to carry compost, plants and containers around the town easily is a real bonus for us.

“The trailer can be towed by any of our members with the appropriate licence and towbar on their car and will enable the group to continue to ‘make St Annes a better place to be’.”

The trailer has come at one of the busiest times of the year for In Bloom volunteers as an increasing number of planters are being distributed around the town this year with more and more businesses ‘getting on board’.

It has already received a lot of use as all the planters along The Crescent have been emptied out and the soil removed to be replaced by new planting containers ahead of the regional judges running the role over the town in the summer.

In Bloom treasurer Coun Tony Ford added: “It’s really convenient having our tools and equipment all in one place when we are relocating containers or tidying up a neglected area of the town.

“It is a great piece of kit, easy to manoeuvre and has quickly proved its worth as our volunteers have been very busy around the town.”

St Annes In Bloom, with some 30 volunteers, has regularly been awarded silver gilt status by North West In Bloom in recent years while gold was celebrated two years ago. It has also regularly won a series of neighbourhood awards.