Agenda item

Report of the Cabinet Member Clean and Green Environment

Fiona Wild, petitioner, was invited to address Council. She highlighted that Cheltenham was renowned for its colourful town centre which was a major asset attracting visitors and their friends and family to return thereby boosting the local economy.

She referred to the growth in the Festivals and the compromise reached 6 years ago allowing them the use of Imperial Gardens while the floral planting, which this organisation wanted removed entirely, was retained, but in a slightly different position.

In terms of the buzzword “sustainable” she said this meant herbaceous planting would be out of season for at least 8 months of the year. The public were seduced by colour but with wild planting, there was often an even shorter flowering season and which would then turned into a brown, withered mess.

Mrs Wild highlighted that last month, Imperial Gardens won the Parks and Open Spaces Gold Award for horticulture, environmental responsibility & community participation. Lying in a formal setting, Imperial and the Long Gardens were best suited to formal planting. Whilst bedding plants required replacing twice a year, they provided  colour for most of that time.

Mrs Wild said that Cheltenham needed to vie with comparable towns, for instance, Bath, Stratford and Tewkesbury, and not destroy one of its main attractions for short-term economic gain. Whilst bedding plants did not necessarily encourage wildlife, if all the other parks in Cheltenham were given over to wild and sustainable planting there would be plenty of places for birds, bees and other wildlife to thrive.

Mrs Wild felt that if the council’s nursery was sold, several of the devoted parks & gardens staff would lose their jobs and she questioned whether that was a satisfactory way to thank them for their painstaking work over the years. The hanging baskets would be filled with plants bought from elsewhere, still at considerable cost. Whilst some gardeners may be retrained in a different style of gardening, a consultant would apparently need to be hired to advise on what to plant instead and also to redesign the gardens which would incur more expense. She felt that bedding plants for these central areas may as well be bought with that money.

The council was already spending a considerable sum on replacing the admittedly below-par Christmas lights. These may encourage visitors over the Christmas period but colourful flowers encouraged them to come throughout the year.

Finally, she once again urged the Council to maintain the formal floral planting in Imperial Gardens and the Long Gardens.

The Cabinet Member Clean and Green Environment thanked the organiser of the petition for her commitment and for taking the time to attend the debate today. He highlighted that he always acted in the best interests of the town and wished to assure the public that no decision had been made in relation to the issue. However, it was important that the council considered all its assets across the town longer term . He highlighted that this was not about cuts to services or saving money but the aim was to keep the extent of the planting, but with consideration of other planting styles that would help to achieve the following aims :

·         A move to a more modern style of planting using flowering perennials that gives year round interest

·         Increase in levels of local biodiversity, benefiting pollinating insects

·         Reduction of natural resources in the production and maintenance of the displays (water, topsoil and energy)

·         Reduction in levels of maintenance i.e. does not require lifting and replanting twice per year, and continuous watering during the summer months.

·         Greater tolerance to year round weather conditions and damage.

He also emphasised that hanging baskets and containers did not form part of the review which was focussed on considering assets and making a decision with regard to either investing heavily in the asset or disposing of it. He informed that a series of stakeholder events had been undertaken as well as visits to other local authorities which had moved towards more sustainable planting regimes. A Member seminar had also been well attended. Ultimately a Cabinet report would come forward for decision. He gave the assurance that the opinions expressed in the full debate and those from the other events would inform Cabinet. Finally he referred to an amendment to the recommendations as follows :

This Council notes the Cabinet’s undertaking to hold a consultation should there be any proposal to change the existing seasonal planting regime in Imperial Gardens and the Promenade Long Gardens. 

The following points were included in the debate :

·         Members recognised that floral heritage in the town’s parks and gardens was important to residents and visitors alike and the proposed changes to the planting regime had clearly raised significant concerns for a large number of the public, evidenced by the petition which had attracted an unprecedented 2.5k signatures in just 3 weeks. Members acknowledged that it was right that the council undertook an extensive review of its assets but there was clearly passion across the political spectrum and among the general public on this issue. It was vital therefore that the public became fully involved in this issue via an informed consultation.

·         The Chair of Overview and Scrutiny suggested that a scrutiny task group could be formed to involve all Councillors and invite stakeholders including the petitioners which would give confidence to all that proper consideration of the matter had been given.

·         Concern was expressed by a number of members that the recent Member seminar had been somewhat biased. Members had highlighted in that forum that the proposal should be subject to the widest possible consultation and on the basis of a full business case.

·         A Member suggested that there should be more investment in the nursery and gave examples of other councils who had done so- Leeds, Nottingham, Birmingham. It could act more commercially, engage in more contracts and be opened up to the general public. Bedding plants were no longer being sold to residents. The nursery had, in his view, great potential to be used as a visitor centre too, hosting educational tours and a training facility, particularly for those with learning difficulties whilst still concentrating on the core business of plants. This could bring wide social benefits. Another Member highlighted the missed opportunity in investing in the nursery in 2013 and it was asked whether it could consider contacting the Chamber of Commerce and other businesses to sponsor parks and gardens as was done with roundabouts but undertaking it as a council rather than via a marketing company.

·         Many Members would give their support to a scheme of alternative sustainable planting outside of the core area i.e. to maintain the existing planting regime in Imperial and the Long Gardens, as they recognised that perennial planting could have its place in the town. They gave the example of planting around the Holst statute which was both creative and imaginative. Many felt however that perennial planting did however lack structure and would not be appropriate in the Long Gardens and Imperial Gardens. It was also highlighted that sustainable planting still required maintenance in terms of weeding and the gardens would still in any case require delittering.

·         A Member questioned what the cost of the contract would be to outsource 301 baskets to the town and the 40 black planters from Cheltenham in Bloom. A Member also asked what the number and value of the contracts to other local authorities was and why the council had stopped selling to the public ? The Director Resources undertook to respond to this question after the meeting.

The Leader said the council was proud of its parks and gardens and proud of the way they were maintained and enhanced. He acknowledged that whatever changes were made these would be of high quality. He recognised the need for informed debate. He highlighted that climate change should also be considered when thinking about a future planting regime and noted that sustainable planting was a criteria for entering the Britain in Bloom competition.

The Head of Law was invited to address Council on the question raised by a Member as to whether Council could request Cabinet to defer this matter to Council. He informed that ultimately this was an executive matter and therefore the decision lay with Cabinet. However, it was the choice of Cabinet as to who it engaged with in reaching its final decision and as part of that engagement it could therefore decide to involve Council.

The following amendment was therefore proposed by Councillor Bickerton, seconded by Councillor Nelson :

A formal request be made to Cabinet to return this matter to Council for further debate and decision after a full public consultation and for additional information provided.

A Member acknowledged the strength of feeling in the petition debate and the huge public interest it had generated. However, he felt that the residents in the ward he represented were not concerned about flowers but rather about universal credit. This was therefore not his priority at the current time.

A Member urged other Members not to be afraid of more sustainable planting which could be colourful and produce better, creative gardens. The role of sustainable planting in terms of wildlife, particularly bees was also highlighted.

In response to a comment from a Member the Cabinet Member Finance confirmed that sponsorship was raised via marketing on roundabouts which amounted to £34k. In terms of sales from the nursery these had reduced as other local authorities were not purchasing the same quantity as they had done. When the last review of the nursery took place it had been identified that £2 million [1]was required to be invested. It was therefore appropriate that the long term future of the asset be considered.

The Mayor thanked Members for a wide and varied debate.

The Cabinet Member Clean and Green Environment stated that he would be happy to incorporate the proposed resolution into the substantive.

Prior to Members voting on the substantive the Head of Law, reiterated that even though Council would have the opportunity to make a decision the final decision on the matter would be made by the Executive, i.e. Cabinet.

RESOLVED (unanimously)THAT

1. Officers consider the issues raised by the petition as part of developing options on the future approach to planting in Cheltenham’s public realm.
2. Cabinet’s undertaking to hold a consultation should there be any proposal to change the existing seasonal planting regime in Imperial Gardens and the Promenade Long Gardens be noted.
3. A formal request be made to Cabinet to return this matter to Council for further debate and decision after a full public consultation and for additional information provided.

The Council adjourned at 4.35pm and resumed at 4.55 pm.