Bourne Comment

BOURNE MAKES ITS ANNUAL BID FOR GOLD

Flowers have already begun to make their appearance around the town to signal that Bourne in Bloom is here again.

This annual competition has become a small indulgence which costs little to stage financially but attracts a great deal of voluntary effort to ensure that our town centre looks its best, not only for when the judges arrive to make their decision but also as an added pleasure for everyone whether they live here or are just passing through.

The actual name of the competition is East Midlands in Bloom but here it has become Bourne in Bloom, a description that captures the very essence of what the organisers are trying to achieve. One Jeremiah posted a message on Twitter this week decrying the fact that the town council is spending money on flowers and plants for the occasion when it should have gone on road safety but that is the province of Lincolnshire County Council, the highways authority, and to deny this town such a small amount from our iniquitous council tax to brighten up the streets during high summer is churlish in the extreme and has found little support.

The competition is a community based project designed to encourage cleaner, smarter and more attractive town centres in the region. There are several sections and Bourne falls into Category B, large towns with a population of between 12,000 and 35,000, based on the last electoral register.

The judges are due to arrive this year on Monday 13th July when they will tour the town looking out for floral displays, attractive streets and colourful gardens and parks, and so it is important for everyone to give special attention to those places for which they are responsible whether it is merely the lawn and herbaceous borders, trade premises, offices or a public open space.

An indication of what is needed was given by one of the judges, Doug Stacey, when he spoke to the town council in May 2009: “The competition originated in France and has been running for 45 years”, he said. “It leads to cleaner communities and encourages people to work together and take pride in their town.”

But what exactly will the judges be looking out for? Well, the criteria laid down includes the visible impact of flowers and floral bedding, maintenance and care of horticultural displays, photographic evidence of seasonal colour, attractive permanent planting and landscaping, community, private, commercial and industrial involvement, an absence of litter, graffiti, fly tipping and general cleanliness of the area and, most importantly, there must also be evidence of the effort made by the police, hospitals, schools, churches and community groups. In other words, the entire town must become involved if success is to be assured.

The competition leads to cleaner communities and encourages people to work together and take pride in their town. It therefore carries with it an involvement of the people and the chance to make our streets attractive throughout the summer months, not just for the judges but also for the many visitors who arrive here with Bourne either as a destination or merely passing through. The work carried out in successive years is the perfect example of how a small market town should look at this time of the year and we should remember that if people like what they see then they will come again.

The idea however is not a new one because the town has received awards for cleanliness long before the current competition caught up with us although these past honours tend to be forgotten as have the plaques that were awarded then. In 1965 for instance, Bourne was judged to be the best kept small town in Kesteven (until the boundary changes of 1974, Lincolnshire was divided into three counties and we were in Kesteven) and the following February, Bourne Urban District Council which then ran our affairs, was presented with a metal plaque and trophy from the Council for the Preservation of Rural England for winning this competition.

An additional prize was a tree of their own choice and the council selected a flowering cherry that was planted near the entrance to the Abbey Lawn during a civic ceremony where it still stands and the small plaque nearby reminds us of this success and of those days when Bourne was a town of which we could be justly proud.

An award was won for a second time in 1978 when a similar trophy and metal plaque were awarded by the CPRE and by this time, Bourne had its own town council and the commemorative tree planting was carried out in the War Memorial gardens by the mayor, the late Councillor John Smith, with the mayoress, his wife Judy, in attendance. Unfortunately, even these tokens of our past glory are often forgotten and many people do not even realise that they exist.

The East Midlands in Bloom competition is therefore comparatively new to Bourne but has been embraced with enthusiasm and our record is commendable as a result, Bourne having collected a silver award in 2006, the first year of entry, with a second the following year and since then we have won a silver-gilt award every summer, a total of seven, together with a number of additional awards recognising individual and community effort.

The score last year was 160 points out of a total of 200 and again that coveted gold seemed to prove elusive. Nevertheless, the organisers are never discouraged and Mrs Nelly Jacobs, clerk to the town council, who co-ordinates the voluntary work to make this event an annual success, remains optimistic. "We were happy with the increase in points although we would have liked to have been placed a little higher", she said. "But we have only a small budget for entering the competition and therefore depend on the goodwill of the entire town but, nevertheless, we hope to build on our excellent community involvement each year."

A gold award will need a total of 170-200 points and is classed as outstanding. “We have been steadily increasing our rating", said Mrs Jacobs, "and we are now only a few points away which means that it might be achievable soon, especially if there is more input from business premises in the town centre. Each year has been a really excellent achievement and we hope that it serves as a reminder to everyone to keep our town clean and tidy 365 days of the year.

“We have seen some big improvements in the floral displays over the years and there is certainly less litter. But this competition is about more than that. It encourages community pride and an awareness of the environment as well as bringing people together.”

Those who are prepared to help represent a very small percentage of the population yet these few people take on the task that should really be tackled by the many. Anyone who wants to join them to help keep Bourne clean and tidy should contact Mrs Jacobs at the Town Hall and they will be made most welcome.

In the meantime, sponsorship continues from various businesses and the Len Pick Trust to help with the cost of the black and gold planters and hanging baskets at various points around town while local schools have been helping to improve the appearance of the bus station and Bourne United Charities has maintained a high standard of care at the Abbey Lawn and the War Memorial and Wellhead Gardens and the number of individuals and organisations that continue to assist with litter picking in and around the outskirts of the town is also growing.

Many local authorities in the country have withdrawn their support in funding schemes such as this but our own town council believes that certain aspects of Bourne have improved greatly since entering this competition nine years ago and that the Ł1,200 budget currently designated to this project is therefore money well spent.

Last year’s result reflected well on the volunteers who gave time and effort to make sure that the town was at its best on the day but more support from our traders would not go amiss. The owners of several business premises such as the Nag’s Head, the Angel Hotel and Smiths of Bourne, have decorated their frontage with hanging baskets in past years but disappointingly some have not and this may affect the final marking by the judges who have suggested that if the owners of more business premises contributed, especially in that vital area around the town centre, we might have won the top award.

Perhaps that will bring a change of heart this year. After all, success in a competition such as this benefits everyone who trades here, particularly those with premises that have such a high profile by being situated in the main streets. If Bourne is therefore prepared to say it with flowers this year, there is no reasons why we should not be collecting that gold award when the presentations are made in September as well as making this town a clean and colourful place to be.

Note: This article was published by the Bourne web site on 4th July 2015