Council gardeners are blooming marvellous

Photo: Picture: ANTHONY MILLER

THE Bloom and Grow team at Alexandra Park. Back row (from the left), marketing officer Jamie Boulger, green space manager Glenn Dale, Jack Thwaite, Paul Hester, Andrew Wakeman, Nathan Christie, countryside officer Jane Downall and green space officer Paul Byrne. Front: Gary Raynor, Chris Woods, Adrian Beesley, Lee Gannon and Mark Dunne.

A GREEN-FINGERED team that led Oldham to victory in prestigious gardening competition has been nominated for a Pride in Oldham award.

Members of Oldham’s Bloom and Grow team have been put forward in a double nomination in recognition of their hard work and creativity.

Councillor Jackie Stanton, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrat group, and Councillor Roger Hindle put pen to paper to nominate the 20-strong team.

Councillor Stanton said: “They deserve the nomination for their constant hard work, commitment and creativity in their amazing displays. They have given pleasure to so many people thanks to their beautiful and creative work.

“They are always going the extra mile for Oldham.”

Glenn Dale (49), from Royton, is the Green Space manager for Oldham Council and project leader for Bloom and Grow. The project resulted in Oldham winning the Best City category in the North-West last year and the team is hoping to keep up its winning streak with this year’s entry, which has a Past, Present and Future-themed garden in Market Place, just outside the Spindles Town Square Shopping Centre.

He said: “The lads involved have put their heart and soul into the project and this nomination is the culmination of all our hard work.

“Bloom and Grow is unbelievably hard work and requires a real team effort through a whole year.

“This year’s entry is considered to be our strongest entry since we started.”

For the past few years, the gardeners have created a centrepiece in the town centre before branching out across different areas of Oldham.

In previous years, the additional areas have included Alexandra Park and Royton, but this year the horticultural project has focused on the Huddersfield Road corridor, into Waterhead and Derker.

Mr Dale said: “People say this year is a very challenging route because they are areas affected by Metrolink and the HMR scheme, areas that are not comfortable territories.

“But we’ve had so many letters of support and phone calls from the public, there is real support in what we are trying to achieve.

“It’s more than just about flowers, its about community engagement with groups including housing schemes, drug-and-alcohol services, and schools.

“The lads are out in all weather conditions working hard to ensure that Oldham has a credible bid, so the Pride in Oldham nomination is fantastic.”




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