Bloom judges to be shown best of town (and no litter)

THE proposed route that the Britain in Bloom judges will be taken on around Henley next year has been approved.

The town will enter the Royal Horticultural Society competition next summer for the first time since 2019.

The draft route was agreed at by an informal meeting of the Henley in Bloom sub-committee led by new chairwoman Councillor Kellie Hinton who has taken over after Catherine Notaras stepped down in May.

The two-and-a-half-hour tour will start at the bowls club in Mill Meadows before the judges are taken by bus from Station Road to Hamilton Avenue, then walk to Trinity Churchyard in Greys Hill.

The judges will then take the bus to Deanfield Avenue followed by Market Place, King’s Road, Northfield End, Fair Mile and Red Lion Lawn.

They will then be taken by boat to the River & Rowing Museum followed by a walk to Marsh Meadows before returning to the museum to make their final deliberations.

Some of the key attractions the committee hopes the judges will enjoy include the sensory garden and Rotary and twinning flower beds in Mill Meadows, the fire station flower bed, Henley Quakers Meeting House, Fairmile Vineyard and Singers Park. The tour will showcase amenities such as the new adventure playground and the adventure golf course in Mill Meadows, both of which can be used by wheelchair users.

Henley has previously won gold seven times in eight years of entering the Thames and Chilterns regional section of the competition.

Town clerk Sheridan Jacklin-Edward, who helped compile the draft route, said: “I used routes from previous years and comments from judges in previous years to see what worked well and what didn’t and how we can include all the assets that we want without going via any gruff spots, trying to make it as pretty as possible.”

Councillor Hinton said she was keen to avoid using Bell Street which she described as looking like a “shanty town”.

She said: “You’ve got to keep your eyes at street level because the moment you look up it’s horrific.”

Mr Jacklin-Edward said: “It depends when street cleaning has been done but sometimes you can get litter there, chewing gum and rubbish. I think it’s still beautiful.”

Mr Jacklin-Edward said that one of the biggest changes from previous years was to go up Norman Avenue to the churchyard, saying it was a beautiful street, as was Greys Hill.

He said they were also close to Sacred Heart and Trinity primary schools and suggested that pupils could show the judges gardening projects they had been working on.

Councillor Gill Dodds said: “On Norman Avenue, they are the most stunning houses and all beautifully looked after. It’s one of Henley’s hidden gems.”

Cllr Hinton said she was concerned about litter on the route as it was used by students from The Henley
College.

She said it was a shame that Gillotts School was not on the route as it had an eco club, adding: “We need to make sure that we include it in the video or the portfolio.”

Cllr Dodds suggested that the council did a letter drop to encourage people to decorate their houses.

Mr Jacklin-Edward suggested the committee considered inviting the judges on a day other than market day.

He said: “The best view is when it’s not market day when you can see everything and there is less likely to be litter and things like that.

“That would be the ideal time to meet with the town centre manager and talk about all the work like street cleaning, bins, bunting, all that kind of stuff.”