Syston in Bloom

2015

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Contents 3. Syston in Bloom—the Group

4. Syston’s Heritage

6. Completed Projects

8. Work in Progress

10. A Project for the Future

11. What the Group Does

12. Publicity

13. Recycling

14. Syston Seasons

15. Front Gardens

16. Planting—All Ages

17. Watermead Country Park

18. Diary 2014-2015

19. Sponsorship

20. The Judging Route

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Syston in Bloom—the Group Each year has seen more people join the Group, all of whom make an

important contribution

Members are Howard Midgley Chair

Terry Farmer Vice-Chair

Marilyn Bent Secretary

Trevor Hodson Treasurer

Terry Bailey Maurice Bent

Derek Cox Bob Dakin

Chris Dodge George Dodge

Ray Dexter Bob Fitch

Christine Hames Kate Hill

Julie Hilton Ron Holdforth

Josie Hutchinson Elaine Yarwood

Syston Town Council continues to sponsor our entry in East Midlands

in Bloom, and our thanks go to Catherine Voyce, the Town Manager

and her staff, including David Smith,

who has done much to make Syston

the floral attraction that it is. He is

also a Group member. We hold our

meetings in the Community Centre.

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Syston’s Heritage

Syston, now a small industrial and commercial town,

forms one of a group of villages (or small towns)—

Sileby, Thurmaston, Barrow on Soar, Mountsorrel etc. at

one time mainly dependent on Agriculture, whose pros-

perity dates from the great industrial revolution of the

middle of the 18th Century, when stocking making be-

came one of the staple trades of this part

of Leicestershire.

Situated on the banks of a rivulet which

crosses the Leicester-Melton Road, is 5

miles from the City and 10 miles from Mel-

ton. Syston has been, in one period or an-

other the junction for important routes of

communication.

120 years ago there were no houses of any

account on the Leicester side of the

brook, but with the coming of the Rail-

way and station the centre of gravity

has gradually shifted in that direction

and on to "New Barkby". The coming of

the railway led to further industrialisa-

tion, in particular framework knitting

and the boot and shoe industry. The

20th century saw further industrial

growth, in particular engineering works producing ma-

chinery for the hosiery industry. Hardly anything re-

mains of the two major industries in the town.

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Syston’s Heritage Some knitwear is still produced and

there is still a warehouse distributing

shoes. Remaining industrial employment

is provided by the food industry, nota-

bly Pukka Pies, which celebrates 50

years this year, and miscellaneous com-

panies operating from industrial units.

Plans are afoot for a sizeable commer-

cial development in the area adjoining

the Watermead Country Park.

The demarcation between the old

portion of Syston and the new is

plainly noticeable. The early settle-

ment, north of the rivulet as already

spoken of, contains the Church, High

Street with its shops, the village green or

market square, the Manor House, etc., with

the site of the old gasworks to the north

near the allotments.

The dwelling houses of this part afford in-

teresting specimens of old architecture,

half timbered and thatched cottages, characteristic erections of the Restora-

tion and Queen Anne Periods with several Georgian residences. Syston has re-

tained several architectural jewels in the centre of the ever-growing sea of new

housing, which has seen the population rise to over 12,000.

Some of our planting this year reflects our heritage by reminding us of pubs

that used to exist in Syston.

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Completed Projects 1. Archdale Street Park

The refurbishment of this park took place late in 2014, using grants made

available as a result of new house building on the outskirts of the town. It

contains a modern mix of play equipment and imaginative planting. Enough of the

park has been left untouched so that ball games can be played. The very weak

brick wall has been

replaced with

wrought iron fencing.

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Completed Projects 2. 2015 Calendar

The 2014 calendar proved to be a great success, with over 200 being sold. As

the pictures showed a variety of modern Syston scenes many were sent abroad

as Christmas presents. It was decided to repeat this for 2015, but making the

pictures the subject of a children’s photography competition. The response from

schools was quite good, but very poor from the youngsters. However, we got a

good crop of photos to judge and the calendar was printed. Sales were slower

than for the previous calendar, so it was decided to keep to a single print run.

Demand picked up just before

Christmas, and perhaps we could have

printed more! Work is already under

way on the 2016 calendar.

This photo shows Callum, the overall

winner, picking up a copy at Syston

Carnival . He had several photos in the

calendar, including the front cover.

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Work in Progress In addition to our regular work we have embarked on one major project this

year:

Enhancement of Syston Railway Station

Syston in Bloom was approached by Syston Town Council and East Midlands

Trains with a view to

helping with the

enhancement of

Syston Station. This

is a busy single

platform station with

hourly trains to

Leicester and Lincoln.

There is a large car

park using much of the area once occupied by station buildings and sidings. The

aim of this project is to improve the environment

of the approaches, car park, and platform.

Phase 1 is the installation and filling of 10

planters on the platform, and this was completed

on May 20th.

Town Council

ground staff

were on hand to

fill the planters with soil and compost and then

to water in the plants.

Here, Trevor is filling one of the fence-

mounted

planters.

A proud

workforce at

the end of day

one!

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Work in Progress The next phase will be to dig out the old shrub roots at the foot of the ramp

leading to the platform. The area will be planted with ground-cover plants and

covered with tree bark. Work will then move to the perimeter of the car park,

where original shrubs have been left to grow wild.

Other projects

2016 calendar—for our next calendar it was decided to ask the public to submit

photos, and to date some have been received. Any shortfall would be made up

with pictures taken by members of the group.

Syston in Bloom website– We have

commissioned our own website, which we

hope will be paid for by selling local

advertising. We can be found at

www.systoninbloom.co.uk.

Town Council flower towers—Until

recently, Syston Town Council had two

flower towers outside the Co-op at

Syston Town Square. The landowners

decided to have them permanently removed as they were resurfacing that area.

Our views were sought about suitable locations where they could be relocated.

The Town Council has decided to locate them at the junction of Broad Street

and Melton Road, subject to consent from County Highways.

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A Project for the Future The Syston and District Volunteer Centre is planning to

develop a piece of land which belongs to Syston Town Council.

At the moment it is wild, and used for grazing ponies. Its

potential is limited as it has underground water, drainage and

power supplies linked to the nearby housing estate. The

Volunteer Centre plans to establish a community garden for

local people of all ages and

abilities, together with a

sensory garden and wild

flower meadow. The Council

fully supports this

initiative.

Syston in Bloom will be

participating by providing

expertise and labour. This

is an ambitious project,

which will be running for a

number of years before it

can be self sustaining.

The Volunteer Centre can be contacted at 18 School Street, Syston, Leicester

LE7 3RL—tel. 0116 2607888, email info@syston-vc.org

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What the Group Does Although our main projects are what draws peoples attention to Syston in Bloom,

we carry out a lot of more mundane work over the year, which we believe is

necessary to help keep Syston looking as attractive as possible.

Ron reached his 90th birthday in May, and despite an earlier

operation which temporarily curtailed his activities, he can be

seen once again attending to the flower beds on Central

Park.

We carry out planting in certain

areas, such as the Town Square

and the Green, where we include

vegetables in the planters.

Surprisingly the public were

reluctant to help themselves to

the produce!

We organise the installation of temporary and permanent

planters in the town, for example outside HSBC and the

Pet Shop.

An important regular occurrence is the Front

Garden Competition, and the Presentation evening

which celebrates it in September

We ensure that our planters, and those belonging to the

Council, are watered and fed. This year we have persuaded

the Council to buy a water bowser for our use.

We do our best to raise funds

for our activities, the most successful single event

being the annual Quiz Night, held at the Parish Church

Hall.

And finally we give ourselves a pat on the back by having a meal

together at Christmas.

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Publicity Locally, we are publicised mainly by the Syston Town News, which is very keen to

promote what we do. In addition we put posters around the town, and are

publicised by the Council, both on its notice boards and on its website. East

Midlands Trains are promoting the work we are doing at the station.

Now that our website is up and running we are publicising its existence wherever

possible. The Town Council website

incorporates us in their news items wherever

possible. And we have a stall at the annual

Syston Carnival, where we sell our calendars,

and plants, and offer advice on gardening

matters, for which donations are gratefully

received!

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Recycling Recycling is firmly part of the culture in Syston, for various reasons.

1. Charnwood Borough Council has invested a huge amount to

make recycling of domestic refuse easy. All households have

single green bins into which all recyclable materials are put.

If necessary additional recyclable refuse can be left next to

the bins at the kerbside on collection days. Householders can

also pay £15 a year for a brown bin, where garden green

waste can be put for

collection throughout the

year, except during Christmas week. All refuse

collections are fortnightly.

2. Charnwood has three domestic waste

disposal sites, which can cope with all types of

recycling, as well as landfill refuse.

3. There are several smaller recycling centres in

and around Syston, for example in the Tesco and

public car parks.

4. Biffa has a waste exchange plant in Syston. In

addition it offers a whole range of commercial waste

collection services in the area, including hazardous and

controlled materials.

5. Syston Town Council does its bit by recycling all

the contents of containers and hanging baskets.

This is carried out at the site next to the cemetery,

where the resultant

compost is reused in

subsequent years.

Council allotment

holders either make

their own compost or use the garden waste bin

scheme.

Recycling site in Mountsorrel

One of Syston Town Council’s

compost heaps at the cemetery

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Syston Seasons The past year in Syston has seen fewer climatic extremes than have occurred

over the previous few years. There has neither been snow, nor flooding, heat

nor gales, with the result that there has been far less damage. Spring was long

and dreary, resulting in a late start for summer fruit and veg. However, a warm

May helped things to catch up.

Summer 2014

Autumn 2014

Winter 2014/5

Spring 2015

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Front Gardens Each year we run a Front Garden Competition. It

is publicised in the local press, posters in local

shops and notice boards, and by leaflets being

distributed to likely candidates. Gardeners may

enter in one of four categories—Best Front

Garden, Best Container Garden, Best Community

Garden, and Pubs and Clubs. Judging is in late

July, and a presentation evening is held in

September, to which all entrants are invited. Each

entrant

receives a

certificate.

Best Front Garden—Coplow Crescent

Best Container Garden—

Roundhill Close

The Queen Victoria—best Pubs

and Clubs

St Peters Court—Best

Community Garden, The shield for the best new entrant

was awarded to Brenda Lovett

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Planting—All Ages Planting is one of our main obsessions. The Council does it, we do it, and we help

children to do it.

The Council is responsible for

the beds on the parks, such as

by the Memorial, the hanging

baskets, and some planters

around the town. An automatic

watering system now covers

most of the hanging baskets,

though the floor level planters

require manual watering. Here, David and James are spraying fungicide in a

problematic basket!

Syston in Bloom has adopted

many planters around the

town, including the

flowerbed in the Town

Square. Some of these have

been sponsored, and others

have been purchased.

Syston’s young have traditionally learned to sow seeds,

prick out plants and pot them on, both at school and in organisations such as the

Cubs and Brownies. Here the Guides are weeding and

putting summer

plants in the

planters outside

Aldi, while the

cubs planted

outside the library, The ‘100’ in lobelia and alyssum represents 100 years of cub

scouts.

At Merton School there is a thriving gardening club, where our Terry Bailey

works with the children each Tuesday lunchtime. Our photos show the raised

beds in the school garden, and some pupils transplanting sunflowers.

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Watermead Country Park

The value of this

amenity to local

residents was illustrated

by the huge outcry which

followed a attack by

vandals in April.. It is

hoped that funds raised

as a result will provide in

more facilities than

before.

Watermead Country Park is a 140 hectare

green area to the north of Leicester, the

northern part of which is in Syston. It

consists of lakes, meadows, woodland,

grassland and reedbeds. It is hugely

important for both leisure and

conservation. Last year, following a visit

by the East Midlands in Bloom judges,

they gave their special award to the Park

for its special contribution the Syston’s

amenities. The picture shows Howard Midgley and Catherine Voyce (Syston

Town manager) presenting the certificate to Dale Osborne (Senior Ranger).

(Leicester Mercury)

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Diary –2014-2015 We may have slowed down over the winter period, but our year from Judging

Day to Judging Day has been quite full. Many activities, such as planting, working

with the schools, and working on projects are spontaneous and/or ongoing, so

can’t be listed. The list below shows specific happenings over the past year.

2014

10th July—East Midlands in Bloom Judging

23rd July—Judging the Front Garden Competition

28th July—Syston in Bloom AGM

18th August—Events Planning Meeting

30th August—Syston Carnival. Launch of the 2015

calendar

17th September—EMIB Presentation Day

23rd September—Front Garden Presentation Evening

13th October —Syston in Bloom Meeting

4th November—Presentation at Watermead Country

Park

8th November—Quiz Night at the St Peter and St Paul Church

Hall

9th November—Remembrance Sunday

24th November—Syston in Bloom Meeting

27th November—Planting in the Town Square

6th December—Syston Christmas fair and lights switch-on

10th December—Syston in Bloom Christmas meal

2015

12th January—Syston in Bloom Meeting

9th March—Syston in Bloom Meeting

13th April—Syston in Bloom Meeting

11th May—Syston in Bloom Meeting

13th and 20th May—Planting at the Railway Station

8th June—Syston in Bloom Meeting

11th June—Planting on the Green

20th June—Planting in the Town Square

29th June—Judging Route planning meeting

10th July—East Midlands in Bloom Judging

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Sponsorship As a group we have tried hard to boost our finances and projects through

sponsorship. We are grateful to the following for their generosity over the past

year.

In addition to giving us valued publicity, Syston Town

News has provided the shield which is presented to the

best new front garden. In 2014 it was presented to

Brenda Lovett.

Pukka Pies have sponsored one of our planters outside the

Pet Store, and have sponsored planters in the past. Also

they have given us a grant which is being used at the

Railway Station.

Derry’s Nurseries, in Cossington, provided a prize for the Front

Garden Competition, and also helped with the judging in 2013. All

entrants to the competition were given a 20% discount voucher for

use at Derry’s.

Our thanks go to Dunelm and David

Wilson Homes for sponsoring planters

outside the HSBC bank at £220 each.

Syston Town Council has made a donation of £650, and also allows us

to use room and clerical facilities free of charge. This is of great

benefit to the work we do. They also purchased the bowser for our

use.

The Green Dental Practice has sponsored planters in the

Green, with a mixture of flowers and vegetables.

Also many shops sponsor our hanging baskets, and can be

identified by the red (or yellow) stickers. We are grateful

to their contribution. In particular the Village Bakery

which sponsors the square bed in the Town Square.

We are grateful to Brooksby Garden Club for its contribution to the plants in

the Green.

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The Judging Route Timing Place Comments

1.

10.30

Central

Park

2.

10.53

Church

3.

11.00

Library

and

Allotments

4.

11.15

St Peters

Court and

Gables

5.

11.25

Cemetery

6.

11.40

Merton

School

7.

11.55

Syston

Station

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The Judging Route

Timing Place Comments

8.

12.05

Archdale

Street

Park

9.

12.15

Watermead

Country

Park

10.

12.35

Pukka

Pies

11.

12.45

Queen

Victoria

12.

1.00

The Green

13.

1.10

Town

Square

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The Judging Route

13

12

11

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1