SOUTH West in Bloom judges were extremely impressed with Melksham following a recent judging day.
Judges were led around the town by the town council on an organised route which included a visit to Aloeric School, Bruce Petty’s house – Melksham in Bloom winner 2014 – the Roundhouse and Prince of Wales Garden, The Bear and many more locations.
Judge Tim Ely said, “Melksham has been fantastic. I wasn’t here last year but from the notes I have read on how the town did in 2013, I can safely say some big improvements have been made. It’s been really, really good and everyone in the community has played their part.
“There is real sense of the whole community being involved and that’s what has impressed us. Even major retailers like Wetherspoon’s and Waitrose have got involved and it adds to the overall experience as we factor in different aspects when judging.”
Paul Smith was also on the South West in Bloom judging panel. He said, “I have been very impressed by the town as a whole but the visit to Mr Petty’s was outstanding. The whole of Melksham gets behind the effort and it is obvious that the feedback from last year when the town won silver has been listened to and acted on appropriately.”
Miriam Zaccarelli, deputy town clerk for the town council said, “It has been a massive community effort. I’m so grateful for the support everybody has given us and I think that is the biggest positive to come out of all this. It’s been wonderful to see everybody pulling together.”
Melksham has been entered in the Sargent Cup for the South West in Bloom competition where they will face other towns of similar size. The results will be announced at a presentation evening in September with either gold, silver or bronze status being awarded.
