Welshpool to adopt under-fire flower beds

Two flower beds that have come in for regular criticism in recent years for being left to overgrow will be adopted by Welshpool Town Council.

But the local authority won’t be taking care of them, and instead they intend to create a community initiative that will see volunteer bodies take them on.

The issue has come to head with the town hosting the Tour de France next year, with thousands of visitors and millions more on TV set to see Welshpool in the global sporting spotlight.

At a sub-committee meeting earlier this month, it was decided to recommend that the Town Council take on the beds outside the NFU Building on Church Street, which have fallen into a sorry state in recent years.

And at this week's Full Council meeting, councillors backed the plan to “approve the request to Powys County Council to transfer ownership of the two flower beds”.

They also agreed to the principle of “licensing town centre beds and planters to voluntary groups for maintenance is adopted”.

The Town Clerk is now authorised to draft a standard flower bed maintenance licence agreement for use with interested groups and seek expressions of interest.