By North Lincolnshire village reaches prestigious national gardening finals
A North Lincolnshire village has reached the national finals for a prestigious gardening competition after fighting off stiff opposition.
Amcotts, a small village with a population under 300 people, battled against tough competition to become one of only six communities shortlisted in the RHS Britain in Bloom awards, under the Small Village category.
Although a tiny community, the incredible efforts of Amcotts locals have put North Lincolnshire on the “horticultural map for its inspirational, generation-spanning community projects”
Volunteers from the St Marks Community Group are at the heart of the projects coming out of the village – a staggering £175,000 has been raised since 2015, when the group was founded, thanks to fundraising and generous grant support.
Additionally, the village has received plaudits for its conservations initiatives which includes supporting a “thriving” bat colony – Amcotts won a CPRE Northen Lincolnshire Environmental Award for their outstanding work.
The community efforts that the village have evidenced coincides with the council’s “Green Future” movement which looks to inspire positive changes for a healthy, cleaner, greener, and more sustainable North Lincolnshire.
Patricia Murphy, a founding member of the Amcotts in Bloom group, said:
“To receive this national recognition is wonderful and something we never dreamt of when we started our In Bloom group”
“Our motto is ‘it takes a village to raise a child’ and we truly believe that – this nomination just goes to show that with a brilliant community spirit and lots of hard work, anything really is possible”, they added.
“While it is fantastic to be in the running for the award, we are not slowing down. Being the year of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, we have extra special events planned, including the crowning of the Rose Queen and Boy Bishop”
Ward councillors John Briggs and Julie Reed added:
“We are delighted that Amcotts has reached the finals of such a prestigious national award and the many hours of hard work undertaken by the community is quite rightly being rewarded”
“We are incredibly grateful to our residents and exceptionally proud of Amcotts”, they continued.
The village, proud of their folklore, are looking to create the “Tiddy Mun trail” – named after the legendary Lincolnshire creatures who are said to have controlled the waters and mists of The Fens.
Furthermore, the village houses an award-winning ‘Butterfly Garden’ in the St. Mark’s churchyard!
Judging for the Britain in Bloom Finals will take place in July and August, North Lincolnshire have confirmed.
