The results of the 2017
Translink Ulster in Bloom Competition were announced on September 21 officially recognising Northern Ireland’s top gardening talent.
The annual horticultural
competition encourages cities, towns and villages right across Northern Ireland
to look their best, boosting civic pride through beautiful plant and floral
displays. Now in its 39th year, all 11 local councils participated in the 2017
competition which attracted 160 entries.
Speaking after the results announcement Deputy Mayor
of Mid & East Antrim, Cllr Cheryl Johnston, said she is delighted that Mid
and East Antrim has once again bloomed scooping twelve awards in total, and
winning in four categories.
Cllr
Johnston said “Whitehead won the Community Rail Halt Award, with Greenisland
coming third in this category. Carrickfergus Station came joint second in the
Best Station Award category, sharing second place with Derry-Londonderry.”
“Glenarm
and Gracehill came joint third in the Village Category, Cullybackey placed
third in the Large Village category, and Ahoghill came second in the Small Town
category. Larne placed second in the Town category, and our Borough did
particularly well in the Large Town Award category with Carrickfergus coming a
close second to Ballymena who won the category.”
“I
am also pleased to announce that Carrickfergus won the Special Award for Biodiversity, in
recognition of efforts to support biodiversity, and Ballymena won the Roses in
Towns Award, thanks to the blooming rose displays around the town.”
Cllr
Johnston concluded “I am absolutely thrilled with these results as Mid and East
Antrim continues to bloom. Congratulations to all the community groups and
volunteers who have put in so much effort and to our hard working Parks &
Open Spaces staff who support the ‘Ulster in Bloom’ campaign 365 days a year.”
“I
would also like to mention John Hood who was shortlisted for the Ulster Bus
Community Champion Award for his longstanding contribution to Ahoghill in
Bloom. Although John did not win on this occasion it is great to see
volunteer’s efforts recognised and John is still a community champion to us!”
Speaking
at the results announcement ceremony, Translink
Chairman, Frank Hewitt, said “Congratulations to all the 2017 Translink
Ulster in Bloom winners and runners-up! It’s been a highly competitive year
with such an impressive standard of entries and we’ve seen a number of new
locations reach the top spots. We’d like to thank all the local councils,
businesses and community groups who invest their time, effort and expertise
throughout the year to make their area a more attractive place to live and
visit.
Alderman Freda Donnelly, Vice President, Northern
Ireland Local Government Association, said: “As Vice President of NILGA, it
is my pleasure to convey the Association’s admiration, encouragement and
congratulations to everyone who has participated and contributed to the 2017
Translink Ulster in Bloom Competition. The competition celebrates the
successes that can be achieved when councils, “Bloom” committees, residents and
businesses, come together to take pride in the places where they live and work,
creating a better environment for everyone to live in and share.
“With
the ongoing partnership support of the councils and our sponsors Translink,
NILGA is committed to building on the culture of the competition and growing it
into the future, harnessing the opportunities provided through council
community planning powers. People in local places can really influence
local decisions, which is great for democracy and great for Northern Ireland.”
The
Translink Ulster in Bloom Competition is co-ordinated by the Northern Ireland
local Government Association (NILGA).
