Horsham Park has secured three top accolades in the Royal Horticultural Society South and South-East In Bloom Awards for 2025.
First up, the Park has won the Gold award in the Large Parks category for the second year running.
The standards for this category are very high and cover a wide range of criteria including horticulture, environmental sustainability, conservation, access, signage, facilities, maintenance and community involvement.
For the third year in a row the Park has also won the Outstanding Award for the It’s Your Neighbourhood category.
This award focuses on how we work together for the benefit of the local community, good gardening practices and environmental responsibility.
Finally, to crown it all the Park also won best in class, meaning it was judged to be the best Large Park in the South and South East region, which is a fantastic achievement.
Horsham District Council Cabinet Member for Wellbeing, Leisure and Culture Cllr David Skipp commented:
I am delighted that we have earned this status to secure such high level recognition for Horsham Park at what are such prestigious national awards.
We must give huge thanks to all our Parks and Countryside officers, the Friends volunteers and other volunteering groups for their continued enthusiasm and dedication to the development and maintenance of the park to make it better and better every year.
Our parks and open spaces are so key to help residents and visitors to maintain a healthy lifestyle and our park really is a jewel in the crown and a star attraction so near the town centre in the heart of our community.
Chair of Friends of Horsham Park Sally Sanderson added:
The competition is a great way of focusing our efforts on maximising the benefits and potential of the park for all. This year the Friends’ volunteers contributed 3500 hours – that’s a big investment and a big thank you is due to everyone involved for all their effort and enthusiasm.
This success shows what can be achieved by working together as a community in partnership with the Parks and Countryside team and by collaborating with local organisations such as such as the Samaritans, Rotary and Strawford Centre. Together we were able to deliver outstanding results for the park.