Tony Fyson, chairman, Dartmouth and Kingswear Society, writes: 

At its meeting on September 24, the committee of the Dartmouth and Kingswear Society unanimously resolved to send Stevie Rogers and her team its warmest congratulations on the splendid success of Dartmouth in Bloom in this year's Royal Horticultural Society competition.

The vote was in recognition of the awards received in the regional competition, but such was our confidence in the quality of the Dartmouth in Bloom team's work, that it included a decision to withhold the letter until further successes at a higher level might be announced.

The national awards vindicate that confidence, but more importantly reflect the exceptionally high all-round standard of Dartmouth in Bloom's entry.

We feel sure that we speak for residents and visitors alike in expressing our delight and appreciation of what you have achieved both in adding to the visual experience of our surroundings and in dramatically enhancing the town's public profile.

We greatly admire what Dartmouth in Bloom has done, especially in the difficult circumstances of exceptional weather conditions; many new committee members; the loss of the greenhouse; and the substantially reduced financial support compared to previous years.

That Stevie Rogers and her team have been prepared to compensate for these difficulties with your own hard labour, witnessed by us all during the mere four months you had to get the whole operation up and running, is hugely to the credit of all those involved.

Gold medals and category wins at both regional and national levels as well as some open awards in competition with cities, make up an unprecedented level of success for those tending the town's public green spaces.

 We cannot speak too highly of a remarkable performance, showing flexibility and imagination in response to the new approaches sought by the RHS.

We must also record our great pleasure that Stevie Rogers' own personal contribution to the bloom effort has been recognised with a Community Champion Award. Many congratulations!

The Dartmouth and Kingswear Society very much looks forward to the new Dartmouth Green Partnerships initiative and will continue to support the organisation's admirable endeavours in any way that it can.