Minutes:
The Chairman was delighted to report that he had on behalf of the council and its partners collected a number of awards at the regional Northumbria in Bloom awards. This included a Gold for Durham City, not only the category winner, but best overall entry for the region. A Silver Gilt for Chester-le-Street who was also a category winner and a Silver for Stanley, which was an achievement in itself given it was only their third year in the competition.
Council officers had also been recognised for their outstanding contributions including the now retired Durham City gardeners Brian Palmer and Phillip Robson as well as Geoff Knight from Civic Pride and Martin Briscoe from Clean and Green Team. The Chairman further extended his appreciation to all the other towns and villages across County Durham, some of which obtaining gold medals themselves.
The Chairman presented the awards to several representatives from the Council team who had helped to deliver the displays across County Durham.
The Chairman also referred to the charity bike ride that Councillor Peter Brookes would be undertaking at the weekend and thanked him for this.