Welcome to Rustington in Bloom

 

Rustington in Bloom is the Village's entry into the National Britain in Bloom campaign where villages and towns compete to have the most attractive floral displays around to enlighten them to both locals and visitors to the area. The wonderful floral displays, clean streets, free parking and variety of shops attract many visitors each year to our thriving Village.  

 

The Village of Rustington has continued and enhanced its programme of being aware of environmental matters, encouraging and supporting all the Schools and Groups within the Village. The Council’s Contractor, who is responsible for all the flower and shrub planting, continues to use not only compost that has water retaining elements, but also with a minimum of peat content. Plants used provide vivid colours and design, presenting the Village with a well balanced flora, but also with minimum water requirements.

 

The tree planting programme continues to expand with trees of many varieties being planted in different parts of the Village, but primarily at the Woodlands Recreation Ground. Trees are sponsored by members of the community. The benefit of this programme is that it not only enhances the appearance of the Village, but also, as the trees mature, they use more carbons from the atmosphere. The Parish has three large Allotment Sites where there is a great deal of pride by all those who use them and they are a credit to the Community. Each year there are Gardens and Allotments Competitions, within the Parish, with very high quality results!

 

The Parish Council also has a good working relationship with the Chamber of Trade and Commerce and both Organisations have a similar attitude to the environment. It is hoped that in the near future all retail outlets within the Parish will be encouraged to use a minimum of plastic carrier bags therefore ‘doing their bit’ towards reducing landfill. The Village also has a Recycling Centre for a variety of products including paper, clothing and plastics. Whilst outside of the Parish boundary, all parishioners are actively encouraged to use the comprehensive Recycling Unit on the outskirts of Littlehampton.

 

How it all started ...

 

The Rustington in Bloom Campaign was initiated in 2004 by the Parish Council, in partnership with a small group of volunteers from various local groups and organisations.  This occurred following the realisation by all of the aforementioned, that Rustington deserved to receive some recognition for its vibrancy, community spirit and aesthetically pleasing appearance. 

So, the seed was sown. (please excuse the pun!).  In its first year as an entrant in the South and South East in Bloom Competition, Rustington received a bronze award.  This encouraged those involved to continue and extend the Campaign on a much wider and varied scale, and thus the In-Bloom Committee was formed, consisting of members of the local community. In 2005, the Campaign went from strength to strength and, after digesting, and acting upon, the advice and guidance provided by the South and South East in Bloom Officers and Judges, both a silver award and the category winner was achieved in the Competition.

Following this success, the Committee knew that there was only one direction in which it must go - towards Gold!!!  So, after much deliberation, it was agreed that Rustington should take a year out to plan its most ambitious entry for the 2007 Competition.  It certainly worked.  Many groups, organisations and individuals couldn't wait to join the Campaign.  In fact, the positive response was overwhelming.  Exciting new projects came to fruition and there was no shortage of suggestions for ways in which the Committee's goal could be reached! 

It is safe to say that the more public awareness grew in respect of the In Bloom Campaign, the more the local community was encouraged to take greater pride in the Village as a whole, and not just aesthetically. 

And finally, in September 2007, all of the hard work paid off, when Rustington achieved a gold award and category winner in the South and South East in Bloom Competition. Who knows what 2008 will bring - Hopefully, much of the same!!  That's what we are all working towards, anyway!! It certainly is a great honour to have been invited to enter Britain in Bloom this year - and this sentiment is shared by the local community, who continue to support the Campaign every step of the way.