Green Flag flies in Golborne thanks to Blooming marvellous volunteers

The Green Flag of excellence is flying once again in Golborne after our amazing Golborne in Bloom group scooped the town this prestigious award for a third consecutive year.

This group of dedicated green fingered volunteers won their first coveted Green Flag – an internationally recognised symbol of excellence – in August 2023. And, as any quick look around town will confirm, they’ve kept up the hard work since then – so the accolade keeps returning.

The award was officially confirmed at a ceremony in Bradford last month, but the flag flying was delayed whilst works to the library roof were completed. And so, yesterday (Thursday, 14 August), a small crowd gathered to watch it being officially raised in a ceremony attended by Golborne in Bloom volunteers, MP Jo Platt, local councillors, special guests and representatives from Wigan Council and Murphys – a key supporter of Golborne in Bloom.

Golborne Library’s Reading Garden, one of Golborne in Bloom’s projects around town.

Who are Golborne in Bloom?

Golborne in Bloom are the group responsible for the beautiful blooms on Golborne Library’s gardens; the Charles Napier gardens and in the car park, the lush planting on the embankment of Tanners Lane between the library and bridge and in the garden borders of Peter Kane Square… and that’s just some of their work!

The group was established nine years ago, with the aim of injecting some civic pride into Golborne Town Centre. Since then, the achievements of the group are clear for all to see. Golborne in Bloom are committed to environmentally sustainable work, using composters and water butts, and providing incredible habitats for wildlife.

They work with other groups in the community, including older people, people with additional needs and school children, to get them involved in their work.

What does the Green Flag mean?

The Green Flag Award scheme, managed by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, recognises and rewards well-managed parks and green spaces, setting the benchmark standard for the management of green spaces across the United Kingdom and around the world. As a result, you’ll often see the Green Flag flying proudly in the best parks and green spaces across the country.

The Green Flag Community Award recognises places where people have come together to make the area a more attractive, welcoming place. It looks for publicly accessible places that are safe, well maintained and make good use of the local biodiversity, landscape and heritage. It looks for genuine community involvement in a project, and requires there to be some creativity and innovation in their approach, too.

The group also look after the beautiful planting and flower display on Peter Kane Square.

Keep Britain Tidy’s Green Flag Award Scheme Manager Paul Todd MBE said: “I would like to congratulate everyone involved at Golborne in Bloom  in achieving a Green Flag Award.

“Golborne is a vital green space for the community in Wigan, bringing people together and providing opportunities to lead healthy lifestyles. The staff and volunteers do so much to ensure that it maintains the high standards of the Green Flag Award and everyone involved should feel extremely proud of their achievement.”

Get involved with Golborne in Bloom

This friendly group of volunteers meet at Golborne Library every Thursday and Saturday (weather permitting) between 9am-12pm. Come along and get involved – no experience or expertise is needed, as they’ll be more than happy to help. It’s a fantastic way to spend a few hours enjoying some gardening, getting to know others, and gaining the satisfaction of seeing what a difference you are making to the town.

You can also find out more about the group by following them on Facebook.