Raglan has been nominated for most beautiful small town in the Keep New Zealand Beautiful Awards. We will be dukeing it out with Waihi for the title which will be announced on Friday 26th October at a gala dinner in Auckland – which incidentally didn’t make it to the finals for most beautiful city – those spots when to Dunedin and Hutt City. An online poll on the Stuff website shows Raglan and Waihi running neck and neck. Raglan was also nominated in 2017, but was beaten to first place by Greytown.
The town or city that scores highest in the community beautification category will win a commissioned mural, designed and painted by Flox, for their local community. Keep New Zealand Beautiful Towns and Cities Awards are judged on initiatives across four key areas; litter prevention/waste minimisation, community beautification projects, recycling projects and sustainable tourism. The Judges are: NZ House & Garden Editor Sally Duggan, renowned stencil artist Flox, and Keep New Zealand Beautiful Chief Executive Heather Saunderson.
Mayor Sanson says Waikato District Council nominated Raglan for its strong community focus, and environmental and sustainability-focused advocacy. Initiatives such as beach clean-up days, a waste water education campaign, Plastic Bag-Free Whaingaroa, and a kerbside food waste collection that has diverted 123 tonnes of food waste from landfill to compost in its first 10 months, are examples of community-driven enterprises that enhance the town for locals and visitors alike.
Raglan Ward Councillor Lisa Thomson says, “I think anyone who spends any time in Raglan understands how beautiful the town is, but it’s the people that make it a truly beautiful place. Our community is proudly protective of the whenua [land] and Raglan’s community initiatives, and its sustainability- focused individuals and businesses, show it’s a real town effort to keep Raglan beautiful.”
Also in the running for an award is Plastic Bag Free Raglan who are up against Timona Park Orchard Trust and Coast Care Bay of Plenty for the Community Environmental Initiative award.
Unfortunately we didn’t get an entry into the Best Loo award but along with Waihi are the only towns to have two entries in the competition – which gives 15 awards in 5 different categories.