Brentwood in Bloom competition could return after more than 8 years

Brentwood’s annual garden and flower competition could be coming back more than eight years after it was last held. Brentwood Council has agreed to work with the new Business Improvement District manager and Chamber of Commerce to look at options to support a new Brentwood in Bloom initiative.

The Brentwood in Bloom initiative ceased around 2016 due to the lack of entries and volunteers to help promote, judge and allocate prizes to the winning entries. The council says possible options to bring back the competition will be identified and reported back to a future committee.

Previously Brentwood in Bloom was co-ordinated through volunteers and costs for the competition were met through sponsorship of the various categories. The competition, which has not been run since 2015, was supported through the Brentwood Business Rennaissance Group and took place over six to eight weeks.

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Some of the new money may come from Brentwood, Shenfield and Ingatestone businesses who voted to create a unique Business Improvement District (BID) that will secure a significant £2m to be spent on improving the area. The Brentwood Connected BID will be the first in the UK to incorporate three high streets in one Business Improvement District.

Previous categories have included best allotment, best front garden, best pub garden, best front of pub, best sheltered accommodation, best business premises, best environmental initiative and best school.

In 2009 controversy surrounded the competition when entrant Jan Brooker scooped the £80 first prize in the first-time-entry category of the competition but ended up dismayed after suffering a backlash from anonymous critics who dismissed her artificial lawn as “plastic grass”.

Leader of Brentwood Borough Council Councillor Barry Aspinell said at the Clean and Green committee on September 11: “Back in the late 90s sand earlier 2000s we had a very vigorous and enthusiastic Brentwood in Bloom team in Brentwood working in conjunction with the horticultural society, schools our own housing estates and various other bodies that were trying to uplift the borough to make it look better, more colourful.

“Even back in 2001 schools were being asked by the Brentwood in Bloom team to concentrate and look at climate change implications and how they could help in some small way at their school. And an awful lot put some good thought behind that and it was well received at the time.”