On the evening of Thursday October 22^nd ARCH Chairs Sylvia and Stewart attended the award ceremony of the RHS Britain in Bloom ‘It’s Your Neighbourhood’ (IYN) scheme. This national campaign is an inclusive, non-competitive scheme that promotes volunteer groups making their neighbourhoods cleaner, greener and safer to live in, all working with the local community for the benefit of the community.

IYN 2015 certificate

The activities of ARCH supporters during 2014-15 were assessed by Barry Cruse, the retiring chairman of the ‘Bath in Bloom’ Committee, in terms of Community Participation, Environmental Responsibility and Gardening Achievement (see Assessment Form).

Last year, the first year of our entering the scheme under the ‘Beechen Bees’ banner, we were delighted to gain a level 4 award of ‘Thriving’.

This year, our range of activities and community involvement surpassed all our expectations and resulted in ‘More Beechen Bees’ being awarded the highest level score of ‘Outstanding’.

Our award was presented by the Mayor of Bath, Cllr. Will Sandry, in the relaxed atmosphere of the Restaurant in the Park, where all the Bath participating groups had assembled.

The residents of Bath owe a huge debt of gratitude to Barry Cruse and his wife Carol for their work over the years improving and promoting the beauty and attractiveness of Bath.

For details of the judging criteria and information about other groups and their achievements in this year’s competition, click here: IYN assessment criteria for 2015