Havering wins London in Bloom

Havering doubles its record to scoop a whopping 23 London in Bloom awards

Large Park of the Year - recently restored Raphael Park won Gold

​Havering has broken its own record, more than doubling the number of awards it won last year, after it was presented with 23 London in Bloom awards at a ceremony yesterday (Monday 8 September).

​Parks in Havering have done particularly well, securing 16 of the awards.

The borough can boast five gold awards, including the London Borough City Award, the Large Park of the Year for Raphael Park, the Large Park over 25 acres Award for Harold Wood Park, and Large Conservation Area and Country Park Awards for Bedfords Park.

One of the judges for London in Bloom, Martin Rodwell, commented on how much he enjoyed visiting the borough, he said: "It was a real pleasure to have judged Havering's Parks."

Havering is already one of the greenest places in London, boasting 6,000 hectares of green belt, which covers almost half the borough.

Councillor Roger Ramsey, Leader of the Council, said:

"Last year we won 10 awards, which was the best we'd had at that point, so to more than double that and win 23 awards is quite incredible, and goes to show how much pride we have in our wonderful green spaces. I'm very thankful to everyone who has worked tremendously hard to maintain these spaces - it's because of them that we have this accolade."

Here is a full list of the awards:

Category	Winners
Small Park of the Year	Langtons House and Gardens - Silver Gilt Secret Garden (Harrow Lodge) - Silver Gilt ​
Park of the Year	Lodge Farm Park - Silver Gilt St Andrews Park - Silver Gilt Upminster Park - Silver Gilt
Large Park of the Year	Raphael Park - Gold
Large Park of the Year (Over 25 Acres)	Harold Wood Park - Gold
Country Park Award	Hornchurch Country Park - Silver Gilt Havering Country Park - Gold Bedfords Park - Gold and Overall Category Winner
Small Conservation Area	Lawns Park - Silver Gilt Harrow Lodge Park - Bronze
Large Conservation Area	Cranham Brickfields - Silver Gilt Dagnam Park - Silver Gilt Bedfords Park - Gold and Overall Category Winner
Large Cemetery	Romford Cemetery - Bronze South Essex Crematorium - Silver Gilt
Business Improvement District	London Riverside Business Improvement District - Silver Gilt
Best Front Garden	Sylvia Littlewood from Woodcote, Broxhill Road, Havering-Atte-Bower - Runner Up
London Borough City Award	Havering - Gold
It's your neighbourhood Award	Myplace Youth Garden Project The Friends of Bedfords Park and Walled Garden Upland Court Road