TAVISTOCK has finally achieved a much sought after ‘gold’ award for the whole town in the Royal Horticultural Society’s Britain in Bloom Awards, the largest horticultural campaign in the UK.

The town is celebrating its most successful year in the competition since it began in 2014 with nine accolades including two golds in the Sargent’s Cup and for Tavistock BID and a special award for Tavistock Sensory Garden and six individual It’s Your Neighbourhood awards.

The Celle Garden by Tavistock Twinning Association and the Tavistock Museum garden cultivated behind the restoration barriers of the Guildhall building works, both achieved a Level 4 (thriving) in the It’s Your Neighbourhood Awards and there were ‘outstanding’ results (Level 5) for Westmoor Veterinary Hospital whose garden was used as a waiting room during the last two years; Tidy Tavi volunteers, who not only picked up litter in advance of the judging, but remained to work a double shift, washing street signs, street furniture and railings; and the Green Burial Meadow maintained by Tavistock Town Council volunteers at Plymouth Road Cemetery which remains one of the town’s best rewilding projects.

Tavistock Community Sensory Garden also achieved a Level 5 award in the same category but in addition won the Westcountry TV Cup for an ‘outstanding specific project’ which was a shining example of the comnunity working together.

Tavistock BID regained a gold this year after an absence of a few years and BID manager Janna Sanders said: ‘We are absoluely thrilled that we managed to achieve gold after 18 months of difficult conditions due to the pandemic.

‘An awful lot of work goes into these awards and we are really pleased that Tavistock has been recognised as a thriving place to visit. I am incredibly grateful for all the help from the community volunteers because we could not have done it without them.’

Chairman of Tavistock Community Gardening Team Ali Sedgwick said she had always felt Tavistock had the potential to achieve gold in the Sargent’s Cup which was for the whole town and now that had become a reality it was really something to celebrate.

The Sargent Cup is a competition between towns of the same size, based on the numbers of people on the electoral roll. The judging process is against a nationally agreed set of criteria, introduced in 2019. Points are awarded in the following way: 40% for horticulture, 30% for the environment and 30% for community involvement, so it is not entirely about floral displays. This year the theme was to show local responses to climate change.

She praised the work of all the volunteers and the collaboration between Tavistock Town Council, Tavistock Community Gardeners and BID.

And she said the Tavistock Sensory Garden was an idea which local people responded to with great enthusiasm and commitment.

‘In gardening, like housework, there is no end point, but a continual need for maintenance, so succession planning has been vital to secure the project’s legacy. The word community is, by its own definition, about people not a location. The Westcountry TV award for an outstanding specific prioject is in recognition of the extent of community involvement in the Tavistock Sensory Garden and the enormous team of volunteers and supporters, who have all contributed. It represents, as well, the commitment of those who will continue to ensure its future.’

Ali added that the success of the awards this year gave the town something to build on.