ROYAL Horticultural Society (RHS) ‘It’s Your Neighbourhood Awards’ were presented to local groups during Minehead’s annual parish meeting.

The Mayor, Cllr Craig Palmer, said that following Minehead’s achievement in retaining a gold award in the 2025 South West in Bloom competition, several local organisations and individuals had been recognised for their contributions to the upkeep of the town.

‘It’s Your Neighbourhood is run in conjunction with the national Britain in Bloom competition and is a free, non-competitive community gardening scheme designed for volunteer-led groups.

It is open to any group wanting to ‘green up’ their local area, streets, estates, or alleys, and has a focus on community participation, environmental responsibility, and gardening achievement, rather than pitting groups against one another.

The scheme supports and rewards volunteer groups working to clean up, green up, and improve their local environments.

Cllr Palmer said Minehead recipients were

• Blenheim Gardens Volunteers

• Community Payback – for their work within Minehead

• Our Precious Earth business owner Keith Hunt, for championing environmentally friendly initiatives

A special award was also presented to Brian Milligan in recognition of his work monitoring and protecting a population of reed warblers in Lower Marsh Common.

Members of Minehead’s Wombles group were also recognised for their ongoing efforts throughout the town to clear litter.

However, there were no representatives present at the meeting, and it was agreed the town clerk would arrange for the certificates to be presented at a later date.

Fifteen local community organisations attended the evening and each displayed promotional material and distributed handouts, with a number giving a brief verbal presentation on their work.

Cllr Palmer thanked everybody for attending and clarified the event was not a council meeting, but a public occasion aimed at bringing together residents, community groups, and local volunteers to share ideas and contribute to making Minehead the best it can be.