Over 40 volunteers arrived at the Crown Oil Arena on Saturday morning, armed with trowels and spades, to plant hundreds of pansies and primroses, creating a delightful winter wonder wall feature along Sandy Lane.
Following the success of the original wonder wall planted by volunteers in the summer, the feature has transformed the Spotland area and won two awards at the North West In Bloom competition including top marks for the ‘It’s Your Neighbourhood’ award and ‘Best New Rochdale in Bloom 2017 Feature’.
Led by Rochdale AFC and Rochdale Township in Bloom, the group decided to create a winter wonder wall to keep the area blooming.
Rochdale AFC Sales & Marketing Manager Frances Fielding said: “We were absolutely thrilled to win the North West in Bloom awards and we’ve received so many positive comments from the local community about the wonder wall that it was a no brainer not to create a winter feature. With the help of the marvelous volunteers and sponsors, we’ve once again transformed the gateway along Sandy Lane and I feel very proud to be involved in this fantastic project.”
Roy Down, Vice Chair of Rochdale Township in Bloom said: “The turn-out of volunteers was fantastic and everyone worked exceptionally well. The ages of volunteers ranged from 7 through to people in their 70’s which was brilliant and we all just got stuck in and worked as a team. The land was transformed in just a few hours and has landscaped the local area.”
Special thanks is given to the sponsors Crown Oil, Rochdale In Bloom and Spotland Councillor Wendy Cocks for funding, Gordon Rigg Garden Centre for supplying the plants, Paul Ellison, Roy Down and Phillip Massey for managing the project, Councillor Cecile Biant, and all of the volunteers and members of the Rochdale Environmental Action Group (REAG) for taking part.
The wonder wall will feature in the 2018 Rochdale entry into the North West and National In Bloom competitions. There’s even bigger plans for this year’s summer wonder wall and a further planting event will be held at the Crown Oil Arena in the spring.