ACTIVITY IN 1999                                                                    top

1999 also saw the inauguration of the Fleet & Church Crookham in Bloom Committee with competitions being held in the week 19 - 23 July. Competitions were held for

Winner:  

This ‘N’ That Antiques

Runners Up

Nat West Bank

WC Baker & Son

Cockram Ltd

Winner

The Wyvern Aldershot Road Church Crookham

Runner Up

The Prince Arthur Fleet Road

The Prince of Wales Reading Road South

Building on the support generated during the 1999 activities the Committee raised their sights with an increase in the range and scope of local competitions and entered the Southern England in Bloom Competition. Publicity for the year’s events started March in the judging of the local events during the week 10 – 14 July.

Cllr Lynch presenting prize to Matthew Barham - Winner Best Logo Design.

Cllr Lynch presenting Hart District Award and Certificate for Special Merit to Apex Centre

 

Mr Gilliam, Manager Hart Shopping Centre, presenting Cup to Mr Hilton, HSBC, Winner Best Shop Frontage

Mrs Goater, Redfields Garden Centre, presenting Shield to Mrs Roberts, All Saints Junior School - Winner best school project

 

 

Spring2000 exhibition in Harlington Centre

Some winning gardens                                                                                            

                          

                                                

 

High Street Display

 

Southern England in Bloom Competition 2000

The Southern England in Bloom Judges Peter Collett and Peter Maunder arrived at the Civic Offices at 10 am on Friday 21 July. This judges were first given a briefing explaining the F&CC in Bloom local competitions and Hart District Council activity in refurbishment and improvement of planters and hanging baskets along the main shopping area of Fleet Road and on the Views.

The judges were then taken on a tour of Fleet and Church Crookham. The tour started with a visit to ‘The Views’ and the ‘Apex Centre’ followed by a walk along Fleet Road followed by a drive around Fleet & Church Crookham calling at Fleet Pond, Oakley Park, and the Basingstoke Canal and visiting the winning Community Group, Front Garden and School.

The Judges then returned to Hart Council Offices for a snack lunch before completing their visit with a final discussion with the Fleet & Church Crookham in Bloom Committee.

The Fleet & Church Crookham in Bloom Committee were delighted to be nominated runners up in the Large Towns Group of Southern England in Bloom with All Saints CE Junior School winning the Best School’s award.

Following on the success and support given in the previous two years the range of competitions was expanded to include ‘neighbourhood areas’ and a photographic competition. The award for the ‘best shop’ was divided to cover both traditional external ‘shop frontage displays’ as well as an internal ‘window display’.

Judging took place in the week beginning 9 July with the results the following week. 

School children played their part in supporting Fleet & Church Crookham’s entry for the Southern England in Bloom competition by making flowers for the ‘Children’s Garden 2001’ which recently ‘Bloomed’ in the Hart Shopping Centre.

The event, organized by Pauline Bowyer using props provided by Redfields Garden Centre, invited schoolchildren to use their imagination during their art/handicraft activities to make paper flowers for ‘their Garden’.

Children from All Saints CE Junior School, Crookham CE Infant School, Tavistock Infant School, Tweseldown Infant School and Velmead Junior School all set to with a will producing an assortment of ‘flowers’, which made for a colourful and imaginative display.

Full Results - Fleet & Church Crookham in Bloom 2001     top
(Highly Commended awards are in alphabetical order)

Class 1-1 Best Front Garden Section 1 - Summer Garden (Sponsored by Fleet & District Horticultural Society)
Traditional summer displays.

Highly Commended Mr D Shipman Albany Close
" Ted Clapton Curtis Court
" Mrs J Grace Crookham Road
" Mr & Mrs Cyril Stark Green Glades
" Mr & Mrs M Slingo Kenilworth Road
" Mr & Mrs Alstin Knoll Close
" Mrs C Hart Larchfield Road
" Mrs R Crowley Ovington Drive, Elvetham Heath
" Mrs J Austin Pondtail Road
" Mrs Dressel Priory Close
" Mrs DV Smeeth Regent Street
" Mrs A Morley Whin Holt

Class 1-2 Best Front Garden Section 2 - Theme Garden (Sponsored by Redfields Garden Centre)
Gardens incorporating e.g. 'low maintenance', 'conservation', 'special needs', 'all year round displays'.

Highly Commended Tony Cousins Corringway
" Patricia Pearce Kenilworth Crescent
" Mr & Mrs Alstin Knoll Close
" Mr & Mrs D Knight Wood Lane

Class 2 Best Floral Container(s) Display (Sponsored by Church Crookham Garden Society)
An individual or group of displays (baskets or containers)

Highly Commended Mr D Shipman Albany Close
" T Clapton Curtis Court
" Mrs A Harvey Curtis Court
" Mrs J Grace Crookham Road
" Mr & Mrs M Slingo Kenilworth Road
" Mrs K Rosie Kimpton Drive, Elvetham Heath
" Mrs C Hart Larchfield Road
" Mrs Dressel Priory Close
" Mrs DV Smeeth Regent Street
" Thurlston House
" Mrs A Morley Whin Holt

Class 3 Best Community Group (Sponsored by Hart District Council)
A garden area maintained by members associated with sheltered housing, a retirement home, church or community hall.

Highly Commended Thurlston House

  Winner Pinewood Court 

Class 4 Best Neighbourhood Area (Sponsored by Waitrose Fleet)
A group of houses in e.g. a 'close' or 'cul de sac'

Class 5-1 Best Shop Section 1 - Shop Frontage (Sponsored by Hart Shopping Centre)
Covering floral displays in baskets and or containers external to the shop.

Class 5-2Best Shop Section 2 - Window Display (Sponsored by Woolworths Fleet)
A window display during the month of July with a gardening/floral theme associated with F &CC in Bloom and Southern England in Bloom.

Highly Commended Design Matters Fleet Road

    Winner HSBC Fleet

Class 6 Best Public House (Sponsored by Grants Shoe Repairs and Trophies)
Floral displays in baskets and/or containers and public house gardens

Highly Commended Harwoods Fleet Road
Commended Foresters Inn Aldershot Road, Church Crookham
Commended Flying Goose Falkners Close, Fleet

Class 7 Best School Project (Sponsored by Redfields Garden Centre)
A garden style project undertaken by pupils under the guidance of teachers.

Highly Commended Velmead Junior School Velmead Road

Winner Heatherside Infants School

Class 8 Best Commercial Premises (Sponsored by North Hampshire Chamber of Commerce and Industry)
Garden frontages to office buildings and industrial premises.

Class 9-1 Best Photographic Entry Sect 1 - My Garden in Bloom (Sponsored by Bowyer Seismic Consulting)
A single photo (colour 8" x 6") of a front garden view at any season.

Class 9-2 Sect 2 - My Town in Bloom (Sponsored by Fuji Image Service)
A single photo (colour 8" x 6") of any area in Fleet or Church Crookham at any season.

Not Awarded for 2001 

The Award for Special Merit (Sponsored by Hart District Council)

Some Winning Gardens

Southern England in Bloom Competition 2001

Judging took place on 17 July

The judges Jilly Drummond and Barbara Nicholson were first given a briefing on Fleet & Church Crookham in Bloom and then taken on a tour of the area visiting the Fleet Pond Society, The Friends of Oakley Park and the Basingstoke Canal Society site at Reading Road South Wharf. They also visited Pinewood Court, Heatherside Infants School and All Saints CE Junior School.

PRIZE GIVING 2001

2001 Campaign ends, but ‘F&CC in Bloom’ continues to give enjoyment!

The Fleet & Church Crookham in Bloom 2001 campaign ended with the annual prize-giving event in the Harlington Centre on 22 Sep.  Councillor Susan Band, Chairman Hart District Council, and several of the sponsors presented the awards.  Trophies were awarded to the winners in a range of competitions from front gardens to business premises with competitions also held for school projects and a photographic competition for ‘My Town in Bloom’.

Councillor Band congratulated competitors for their efforts that give pleasure and enjoyment to all who live and work in Fleet & Church Crookham.  As a member of the Board of the National Charity ‘Thrive’ which encourages elderly and disabled to lead a more active life through gardening, she said how much she admired the efforts being made to enhance our local environment and wished the Fleet & Church Crookham in Bloom campaign continuing success. 

  In response, the Chairman of the Fleet & Church Crookham in Bloom Committee, John Himbury, thanked Councillor Band and the Sponsors as well as those who had taken part in this year’s competitions.  He said the event was not just about winning but also about taking part and sharing the enjoyment with others.  In summing up the year’s activities he said that 2001 had been a year of progress with more entrants taking part in more events. And it was encouraging to welcome new residents from Elvetham Heath who were taking part for the first time, and to see them gaining awards!  As the number of entries increase and standards improve deciding on winners became very tight with only a few points separating the ‘leaders’!

  In the Southern England in Bloom Regional Competition Fleet & Church Crookham, in spite of gaining good marks in several areas, failed to make a showing in the awards list, with Andover Winning and last year’s winner Winchester being Joint Runner Up with Salisbury.  Fleet & Church Crookham scored well in the community involvement and conservation sections, with Friends of Oakley Park to be congratulated on being awarded a Southern Region in Bloom Medal.  However Fleet & Church Crookham needs to make a better showing amongst the industrial estates and business and retail parks.

  The ‘In Bloom Committee’ is already planning for the 2002 events when those shortcomings identified by the Regional Judges could be rectified.  In the local competitions it is hoped to see more entries from those many other local residents and business premises who take such an obvious interest in the appearance of their garden and community.  The In Bloom Campaign continues to encourage these interests for the visual enjoyment of all who live, shop and work in Fleet & Church Crookham.

Photographs of some of the Prize Winners.

ACTIVITY IN 2002  top

Fleet & Church Crookham in Bloom 2002 – A year of Colour!

Planning for the Fleet & Church Crookham in Bloom Campaign 2002 got off to a good start in February with the Committee introducing new events to mark the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Year; a ‘Golden Jubilee Container’ Class and a ‘Jubilee Flower Pot’ container for the Schools Project.  Both classes to have a red, white, blue and gold theme including items appropriate to the Queen’s Jubilee.

A highlight of the year was the ‘Children’s Jubilee Garden’ in the Hart Shopping Centre during July when the Committee organized a display of paper flowers produced by children from Nursery Schools in Fleet & Church Crookham.  The ‘garden’ was later put on display at the Hart District Council Offices.

For the Schools Project Redfields Garden Centre provided each school with a large pot, bag of compost and a £15 voucher.  Enthusiasm was high with ten Schools taking part in the competition which was judged during the week 8 – 12 July.   The Judges remarked on the pleasingly high standard and variety of designs of the entries.  The marking was very close, with only a few points separating each entry. 
The main activity of the year focused on the week 22 – 26 July.  The week started with the visit of the Southern England in Bloom Judges, Gilly Drummond and Derek Beer on the 22 July.  After a short briefing on the activities of Fleet & Church Crookham in Bloom they were taken on a tour of the area during which they visited Fleet Pond, Oakley Park, the Church Crookham Garden Society ‘Shed’, Curtis Court, the Canal at the Fox & Hounds and the Grange Estate.  They also saw a selection of entries for the ‘in Bloom’ competitions and the new Hart Council recycling facilities at Elvetham Heath before returning to the Civic Offices for a light lunch and a final briefing before leaving at 3 pm.

The next few days were filled with judging the entries in the main Fleet & Church Crookham in Bloom competitions.  Although the number of entries has remained fairly constant there was disappointment that more shops and ‘Neighbourhood Areas’ in Fleet & Church Crookham had not entered into the spirit of the event.  The standard of entries, particularly in the floral and jubilee container classes, remains consistently high making the task of determining an order of merit harder each year.

FLEET and CROOKHAM in BLOOM 2002 RESULTS

At the time of writing the full report and comments of the Southern England in Bloom Judges has not been received but it has been announced that Fleet & Church Crookham have received Regional Awards for the ‘Best Tree Planting Programme’ and the ‘Agenda 21 Award’.  These awards were for Hart District Council’s ‘A new tree for a new baby’ initiative which encourages young children to appreciate trees and provides an ideal opportunity for increasing the landscaping of trees within the community; and the cleanliness of the new underground bottle banks at Elvetham Heath which offer ease of access and convenience for neighourhood recycling.

The year’s activities will draw to a close on Saturday 28 September when all who have taken part in Fleet & Church Crookham in Bloom 2002 have been invited to the Prize Giving event in the Harlington Centre.

  CHILDRENS GARDEN at the HDC

HEATHERSIDE SCHOOL

CHILDRENS GARDEN at the HART SHOPPING CENTRE

WINNER JUBILEE FLOWER POT COMPETITION - TWESELDOWN INFANTS SCHOOL

VARIOUS GARDENS from FLEET in BLOOM's CAMERA

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FLEET and CROOKHAM in BLOOM 2002 PRIZEGIVING

Over seventy entrants in the Fleet & Church Crookham in Bloom 2002 competitions gathered in the Harlington Centre for the annual Prize Giving Event on Saturday 28 Sept.  Cllr Jonathan Glen, Chairman of Hart District Council, and sponsors of the competitions presented the awards.

Cllr Glen said how delighted he was that Fleet & Church Crookham had taken part in the Southern England stage of the Britain in Bloom Competition and wished them every success in future years. Terry Egginton, Chairman of Fleet & Church Crookham in Bloom, thanked Cllr Glen and the sponsors for their support for the competitions and said that the Southern England in Bloom Judges as well as commenting on the excellent standard of private gardens throughout the community had awarded 10 out of 10 for Residential Front Gardens.  He thanked all entrants for their enthusiasm and hard work throughout the year and hoped that they would continue in their efforts to make Fleet & Church Crookham an attractive place in which to live and work.

In the Southern England in Bloom 2002Fleet & Church Crookham picked up two environmental awards.  The Best Tree Planting Programme award was given for the ‘New Tree for a New Baby’ scheme set up by Linda Runnacles at Hart District Council and the Agenda 21 prize, shared with Wareham, was awarded for the cleanliness of the new underground bottle banks at Elvetham Heath.

John Himbury, Secretary of the Fleet & Church Crookham in Bloom committee, attended the prizegiving in Wimborne on 17 October together with Linda Runnacles and Richard Bisset of Hart District Council.   He said “Although we have stiff competition from the likes of Winchester, Salisbury and Andover in the ‘Large Town’ category and  were not placed overall this year we were delighted to be given these two special awards. The Council has been very active in its support of the competition and we are very pleased that these initiatives have been recognised”.

This is the third year the towns have entered the regional competition, and have gained awards in each of those years.  All residents of Fleet & Church Crookham are encouraged to support the local ‘In Bloom’ competitions to help continue in raising the standards of the towns for future entries.

L-R: Mrs Gwen Blackett, Vice-Chairman of Southern England Tourist Board , Joy Wenham, Isle of Wight who presented the trophy and Linda Runnacles, Hart District Council .

L-R: Mrs Gwen Blacket, Vice-Chairman of Southern Tourist Board,  Richard Bisset of Hart District Council and Norman Longstaff of Wareham.

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ACTIVITY IN 2003  top

Grants Shoe Repairs           HSBC                      Priory Close             The Wyvern

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ACTIVITY IN 2004  top

Winners: 

Front garden, Fleet and District Horticultural Society Cup: 
1st: Mr and Mrs M G Holmes, 87 Gally Hill Road. Joint 2nd: Joan Partridge, 3 Gally Hill Road. Jackie Clarke, 16 Gordon Avenue. Mrs. D V Smeeth, 4 Regent Street. 

Front garden traditional summer bedding: 
Mr and Mrs M G Holmes.

Front garden all year found/theme garden: 
Joan Partridge. 

Front garden display of containers/ hanging baskets: 
Adrian Ede, 3 Northfield Close. 

Floral container: Church Crookham Garden Society Cup: 
1st: Jackie Clarke. Joint 2nd: Maureen Dressel, 3 Priory Close. Jean Whalley, 10 Fullerton Close. 

Community gardens, Hart District Council Rose Bowl: 
1st: Curtis Court. Second: Apex Centre. Neighbourhood area

 Waitrose (Fleet) Cup: 
1st: 1-10 Whin Holt. 2nd: 25-41 (odds) Adams Drive. 

Shop frontage, Had Shopping Centre Trophy: 
1st: W C Baker and Son. Second: Cockrams Jewellers. 

Shop window, Woolworths. (Fleet) Shield: 
1st: Grants Shoe Repairs and Trophies. Second: British Heart Foundation. 

Commercial premises, North Hants Chamber of Commerce and Industry Salver: 
Ppvote Ltd. 

Public houses: 
1st: Foresters. Joint 2nd: Prince Arthur, Fox and Hounds.

School project: 1st: Fleet Infant. Joint 2nd: Elvetham Heath Primary, Heatherside Infant. Award -for Special Merit: Heatherside Infant School. 

Chairman's Cup: Curtis Court. Society Cup: Fleet Pond Society.  

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