BOVEY Tracey blossomed in this year’s South West in Bloom competition after taking home both Gold and Best in Class in the Pennant Town (North and South) category.

Awards were presented by Mark Bailey, Honorary Lord of the Manor, at a ceremony in the Riverside Community Centre.

South West in Bloom is one of 16 regional competitions that make up Britain in Bloom, the biggest horticultural campaign in Europe.

The aim of those who take part each year is to improve and regenerate local environments and neighbourhoods.

This can be through the planting of trees, shrubs, flowers and landscaping, conservation and recycling projects, and to sweep away the eyesores that blight our streets, such as litter, graffiti and vandalism.

This year, Bovey Tracey achieved its success through five unique community groups, each receiving Britain in Bloom’s special It’s Your Neighbourhood award.

The groups were:

- Bovey Community Garden, a group of gardeners working in the walled garden of the Parke Estate.

- Friends of Mill Marsh Park, who help to promote and manage one of Bovey’s most treasured and well-used parks

- Bovey Primary School Garden Club, run by parent volunteers to get kids into gardening

- Bovey Tracey Garden Club, which has been meeting and putting on the famous Summer Show since 1863

- Growing Space, a project creating local sustainable food networks by growing on small patches of land around the town.

Bovey Tracey businesses were also well represented, with the Brookside Cafe and Restaurant and the Bell Inn both achieving Gold in the Business Awards.

Town Mayor, Cllr Sheila Brooke, said: ‘Not only did we achieve Pennant Gold, but we also achieved Best in Class as well, which is absolutely fantastic for the town. A really big thank you has to go to our groundsmen who do so much behind the scenes, Richard Taylor, who has been helping to organise us for nearly 20 years, all the community groups and volunteers and the businesses in Bovey, who support the town every year. There’s a lot of dedication and hard work going on.

‘The problem with getting double gold is it will make it a hard one to top for next year!’