Caistor has been celebrating after winning a top ‘Best Kept’ award - just weeks after picking up gold at East Midlands in Bloom.
The town has been named as Campaign to Protect Rural England’s Best Kept area, in the tough ‘past winners’ category of the competition. It is the first time Caistor has won this category - after winning the ‘market town’ group in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
Caistor town councillor, and Caistor In Bloom Chairman, Ms Deborah Barker said:
“It’s just amazing. It’s even bigger than winning best market town. It’s a bigger coup as it’s a harder category. Everyone in the town has done bits and pieces here and there. “It’s another feather in the cap for Caistor.”
Judges award points for things such as bus shelters, notice boards and recreation areas. They also look at ‘community spirit’ – and Caistor was awarded full marks for this. Ms Barker added:
“We got 15 out of 15 for community spirit - that’s what pleases me the most. It’s down to all the volunteers, groups like Caistor Goes and the Lions. It’s about partnership working.”
Last year Caistor came second in the ‘past winners’ category, with Crowland taking the title. Ms Barker concluded:
“This year we’ve beaten everybody. Places that really are good and have done it for quite some time.”
The competition was entered by Caistor Town Council. Judges visited the town at the end of September. Member of Parliament Sir Edward Leigh said:
“I am tremendously proud that once again communities in the constituency have come cream of the crop in the CPRE Best Kept Village and Small Town competition.
“I am particularly proud to congratulate Caistor on their win in the Past Winners category, along with Nettleham who came in as runners up.”
And Sir Edward paised the town’s ‘dedicated’ residents, adding:
“I know that it is all due to the hard work of dedicated volunteers and the parish and town councils that our communities are some of the loveliest in the country.”
