Monkton Village Association volunteers celebrate securing Northumbria in Bloom awards

Volunteers at the Monkton Village Association (MVA) are celebrating securing a round of awards at Northumbria in Bloom 2026.

The competition celebrates villages, towns, cities, community groups, schools, and more that make the North East greener, cleaner and more colourful.

MVA volunteers have worked year-round through fundraising and horticultural activity as they looked to bring Monkton Village into bloom.

Their efforts saw bright and colourful flowers planted throughout Monkton Village, with residents also taking better care of their own gardens.

Judges from Northumbria in Bloom visited Monkton Village on Thursday, July 23, to see first hand for themselves how much work the volunteers had put into their entry.

The work of the MVA paid off as they secured a ‘silver gilt’ in the ‘Villages’ category at the finals of Northumbria in Bloom 2026.

Volunteers also submitted entries for the White House Nursing & Residential Home in the ‘Care/Residential/Convalescent Homes, Hospices and Day Centres’ category and the Lord Nelson in the ‘pubs’ category - with the MVA securing silver for both submissions.

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Gerry Fionda, Chair of the Monkton Village Association, has previously spoken to the Shields Gazette about his pride in the team of volunteers who have worked tirelessly to help brighten up their local area.

He commented: “The main area of the drive has been for the Northumbria in Bloom competition and I’m proud of what we’ve done.

“A lot of hard work has gone in and anyone who looks at the flowers can see that - I think we’ve done exceeding well.”

The full list of results for Northumbria in Bloom 2026 can be found at: https://northumbriainbloom.com/2026-northumbria-in-bloom-results/.