The flowers for our Heart of England in Bloom entry looked stunning this year.

I’m pleased to note that Brownhills this year won a Silver Gilt Award in the ‘Heart of England in Bloom’ competition – not the kind of thing you’d normally associate with Brownhills, but year after year, the floral displays here have been improving, and this year they looked wonderful.

Silver Gilt is just a shade off gold. My congratulations and thanks to all concerned.

It’s easy to knock Brownhills, but all the work on the flowers was done voluntarily by people caring for their community. There’s a lot to be said for that.

Walsall Council issued the following press release this morning:

Walsall’s five district centres are celebrating after collecting an impressive haul of awards in this year’s Heart of England in Bloom competition.

Aldridge and Bloxwich repeated their 2013 success by receiving a gold award while Brownhills, Darlaston and Willenhall all received a Silver Gilt, just below the gold level, in the urban community category. There was an extra special accolade for Aldridge who were named joint overall winners and have now been invited to take part in the national Britain in Bloom competition in 2015.

The awards were announced at a ceremony in Shrewsbury yesterday(Thursday 11 September). It is the culmination of 12 months of hard work led by Walsall Council’s district centre management team, supported by community groups and volunteers, to highlight the area and help people feel proud of their communities.

In addition to the awards for the main centres a number of pubs who entered the competition also discovered how they had fared.

Silver Gilts were awarded to the Three Crowns in Willenhall, The Swan in Darlaston and Prince of Wales, also Darlaston. Taking home a bronze are The Frying Pan in Darlaston and Royal George in Willenhall. The Horse and Jockey and Spring Head Tavern, both Darlaston, received a certificate of entry and merit award.

On a personal level Diane Mansell and Nikki Rolls from Walsall Council’s district centre management team received certificates of merit for their work in the five district centres over the last 12 months.

Councillor Mohammad Nazir, portfolio holder for regeneration at Walsall Council, said: “Once again this summer the district centres looked absolutely fantastic and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who played their part.

‘A lot of hard work goes into achieving these accolades and it is worth noting that the judges commented on how all five districts have improved massively in the competition year on year.’

All the district centres are entered in the Urban Community category which looks at three main areas. They are horticultural achievement, environmental awareness and community involvement.

We can all be disparaging about Brownhills town centre but this is a great result for the town, the traders and volunteers who worked hard to put on such a lovely display. I’d like to congratulate them, and I’m sure readers will join with me in doing so. I may not always see eye to eye with BTCP, but credit must go where it’s due. Thanks.

I’d like to also congratulate neighbours Aldridge and Bloxwich who achieved Gold awards…. they were stunning too.

Here’s to next year…