Great Coates has reached the national Britain In Bloom final, showcasing its impressive floral displays and community work throughout the North East Lincolnshire village.
The annual Britain In Bloom awards, run by the Royal Horticultural Society, celebrate villages, towns and cities that have gone the extra mile to beautify their area.
Having won the East Midlands in Bloom category, they were put forward to the national judging in the large village category. Great Coates is one of eight in the category including the likes of Floral Forest in Guernsey and Saundersfoot in Bloom in Wales.
Royal Horticultural Society Judges Roger Burnett and Ian Beaney visited the village to compare its displays to the other competitors before an overall winner is declared late this year.
For founders and long time residents Mike and Dawn Stewart, it’s an honour to even be nominated. Dawn said: “We started the group five years ago after myself and Mike wanted to make the area near the war memorial look more appealing.
“After that, two of our friends decided they wanted to help us do more to the village in general and it went from there.”
To start with, Dawn and Mike spent four hours a day taking milk bottles full of water around the village for the flowers they’d planted. Now, the 16 strong volunteers take it in turn watering the 160 displays, taking two hours at a time.
“I’ve lived here 65 years now and we just want to bring it back to it’s former glory and hopefully put North East Lincolnshire on the map,” said Dawn.
Clerk of the village council, Carl Thomas, is also part of the volunteer group and says that there is more to their efforts than just flowers. “We litter pick, commemorate significant events and look after the train station after becoming adopters on behalf of East Midlands Railway and work with local community groups to teach them about gardening.”
