At a recent ceremony in Oxfordshire, Milton Keynes was named 'best large city' and presented with a Silver Gilt award by the Royal Horticultural Society. In addition the Hanson Environment Study Centre won regional Bloomin' Wild award and Wolverton and Greenleys Town Council won the Urban Community award.

The city's entry was made jointly by Milton Keynes Council and The Parks Trust, supported by the Open University. The entry received special praise for "Campbell park, the Hanson Centre and the work of volunteers in Newport Pagnell and Willen Lake".

It's points total of 164 - given for everything from floral displays, permanent landscaping, community involvement, cleanliness, recycling and sustainability - was an improvement of 5 points on last year's entry.

Commenting on the award David Foster, Chief Executive of The Parks Trust, said : "The colourful spectacle of Milton Keynes' parks and grid roads make the city a great and unique place to live and work. We're extremely proud of the work we do in maintaining the parks, such as Campbell Park, Willen Lake and Linford Wood, and we want the city to share our pride in the landscape around us."

Norman Parker, council landscape services development officer added: "The Britain in Bloom award is a great credit to the city. We're pleased to have improved our entry on last year and look forward to going for gold next year."