Cheshire Peaks & Plains Housing Trust is about to announce the winners of its Best Kept Garden Competition for 2007.

The competition is the first of its kind to be held by the Trust, and aims to reward tenants who have taken the time and effort to create beautiful gardens. It was open to tenants across the borough of Macclesfield, and entries were in four categories:

• Best individual garden
• Best hanging basket
• Best communal garden, for example in sheltered schemes
• Best children’s garden (for children aged 12 and under)

All entrants were visited by a member of Trust staff who filled in a questionnaire and took photographs of the garden, which were then used by a panel of judges to select the winners in each category. The judging panel was made up of tenants, Board Members and representatives from partner organisations.

The winners will be announced and prizes given at a special awards ceremony, to be held at West Park Pavilion, Macclesfield, at 2pm on Friday 7th September. The ceremony will be attended by the Mayor of Macclesfield, Councillor Barry Burkhill. Representatives from Trust partners ROK and White’s Building Services, who are carrying out improvement work on behalf of the Trust, will also be there to sponsor some of the prizes.

Chief Executive of the Trust, Tim Pinder, says “I am delighted that the garden competition has proven to be such a success. Despite the difficult weather conditions this year, the standard of entries has been excellent and I know that the judging was very difficult. Congratulations have to everyone who entered as well as our winners.

“Taking care of a beautiful garden is a real labour of love, which benefits not only those who live in the property, but everyone who passes by. Attractive gardens can make a real difference to an estate or a community and can encourage others to take pride in their surroundings, so it’s great to be able to give some recognition to our dedicated gardeners. We look forward to even more entries next year!”