The Bromyard in Bloom committee has elected its first chairman and is drawing up an action plan to make the town a serious rival to Ledbury in next year's Britain in Bloom competition.

Town clerk Mike Cresswell said that although Ledbury's successes might not be challenged "for a few years yet", the intention was there.

He said: "We have a long way to go but we're working on it!"

Bromyard's campaign chairman is town councillor Daphne Davies, who for seven years has co-ordinated Bromyard's floral displays, to the delight of visitors and residents alike.

Mr Cresswell said: "She has lots of experience and is a very good co-ordinator who hopes to bring a lot of people together."

The town council looks set to continue to put around £4,500 a year into the town's hanging baskets and bulb planting campaign, such as that along the bypass.

But, well in advance for a 2002 entry into the Britain in Bloom competition, the Bromyard in Bloom committee is to identify other areas of town that need brightening up, as well as launching an essential fundraising drive.

This looks set to begin with an appeal to the town council for a grant of £200 to cover postage and telephone calls.

Further strategies will be discussed at a meeting in The Oak Room at the Feathers Hotel at 7.30pm on May 3. Members of the public who are interested in the campaign are welcome to attend.

Mr Cresswell said that one idea would be to put bulbs on traffic islands by the town and other areas outside the remit of the council.

Ledbury, which is representing the Heart of England region this year in the national finals, has made great use of "flower standards" bearing hanging baskets throughout its town centre.

But Mr Cresswell said that Bromyard's streets were probably too narrow for such columns and one solution would be to fix extra floral displays to the buildings and create "intense areas of colour" in the historic streets.