Cutbacks take the bloom off road

9:20am Thursday 28th August 2008

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AN EMPTY flower bed in West Timperley has been branded a blooming disgrace.

Residents are livid that leisure chiefs have failed to plant any flowers in the plot on Cholmondeley Avenue/Malpas Drive.

It is one of a number in the borough that have not be planted because of cutbacks.

Resident Bill Bramley said: "The council have made this flower bed into an eyesore by dumping a load of wood bark on it simply to cut costs.

"No-one has been consulted and it demonstrates their disregard for the needs of the community.

"We all want to live in areas with good parks, greenspaces and flowerbeds. It helps to maintain house prices and thus council revenue. We want our councillors, regardless of political party, to take action and fight to get our flower bed restored."

He was supported by the Labour group's shadow spokesperson for the environment, Cllr Jane Baugh.

She said: "We introduced flowers to this bed and improved many others across the borough. This is a backward step and I regret this Conservative council has not prioritised our park and countryside and green spaces in their budget plans."

Executive councillor Jonathan Coupe defended the flower bed cuts.

He said: “This flower bed is one of a number in Trafford which we are unfortunately unable to plant out at present due to financial constraints.

"To improve the appearance we have now removed weeds and put bark down. We are working hard to make Trafford a cleaner, greener borough and it is a shame that we cannot afford to maintain all flower beds, as we really have to prioritise spending and make savings where we can. In the meantime, we welcome any input from the community to help our green spaces to flourish and are keen to work with local people to achieve this.”