City wins top floral championship

The city has won the top Britain in Bloom division

Nottingham has been named Champion of Champions in the annual Britain in Bloom competition.

The city won over competition from St Ives, Cornwall, Darley, Yorkshire, Alness, Scotland and Heysham, Lancs.

John Simpson from Woodthorpe Grange nursery said the award was the culmination of years of work.

"It is a year-round effort and it is not just about flowers but about other issues such as graffiti and litter," Mr Simpson said.

Composting praise

Judges from the Royal Horticultural Society were taken to Wollaton Park, the University of Nottingham and Arkwright Meadows Community Garden during their visit to the city.

Sue Thompson, who organised floral displays in the Meadows, said the streets in her neighbourhood were full of flowers and residents had worked hard to win the title.

The judges looked at floral displays, landscaping, sustainable development, environmental initiatives, public awareness and community participation.

They praised the city for its composting courses offered to residents and its work to resolve recycling problems for inner city homes with little or no space for bins.

The award was presented at a Britain in Bloom ceremony in Chester.

Sheffield won gold in large city category in the awards, while Solihull, West Midlands won the city category, Taunton, Somerset won the small city/ large town category and Perth, Perthshire topped the large town/ small city.

Nottingham won the gold medal in Britain in Bloom's large city category in 1997, 2001, 2003 and 2007.