Gold award win for Plymouth’s blooming beautiful Waterfront

7th October 2021

Plymouth’s Waterfront has been awarded Gold award at the 2021 South West in Bloom Awards, a regional heat of the renowned Britain in Bloom competition.

Plymouth Waterfront Partnership Business Improvement District (PWP BID) led the entry into the awards’ BID category and judging took place in July.

Diane Mansell, Chief Executive of PWP said: “We are absolutely thrilled to have received a Gold award at the South West in Bloom awards! We’ve been working hard throughout 2021 to make sure that Plymouth’s beautiful Waterfront is looking as good as it possibly can, to give visitors the best welcome and make it an amazing place to live, work and play.

“This would not have been possible without the support of our Plymouth Waterfront in Bloom organising committee and the local community, including our brilliant BID businesses, so I’d like to extend a huge thank you to everyone involved.”

A huge amount of work has been done across the city’s Waterfront, from Royal William Yard to the Barbican and the Hoe, to ensure the area is looking its best.

This included some brand new flower power along Southside Street and the Barbican with the installation of 19 new planters. Over the summer, these were filled with 2,000 stunning trailing petunias and they’ve now been replanted with new seasonal flowers to ensure they offer a colourful welcome throughout the winter.

The planters have also been decorated with new signage, which includes fascinating facts about Plymouth and artwork created by local schoolchildren. 

Other work that has taken place along the Waterfront this year to make sure it looks at its blooming best includes:

• Installing new tree lights at Exchange Street Car Park
• Supporting art installations and improvements at Bretonside, with new murals on Moon Street and North Street
• Installing a new monolith containing useful visitor information outside Royal William Yard
• Developing a ‘Community Payback’ programme which has resulted in painting and cleaning in Elphinstone car park, High Street and around the Mount Batten peninsula
• Fixed the lights in the Leviathan (also known at Barbican Prawn) sculpture, so it is now illuminated at night.

Councillor Nick Kelly, Leader of Plymouth City Council, said: “Huge congratulations to the PWP team and the wider organising committee on their fantastic achievement at the South West in Bloom awards.

“The Waterfront is absolutely the jewel in Plymouth’s crown, and we’re proud to work closely with PWP to support the improvements being made across the area. The vital work that’s been done during 2021 has supported businesses by improving the environment for visitors and ensured that the Waterfront provided a beautiful backdrop to our world-class events, including SailGP, The Hatchling and the British Firework Championships.”

The South West in Bloom winners were announced on Thursday 7 October at an event in the Winter Gardens Pavilion in Weston-super-Mare.