Heartbreak after plants ‘destroyed’ by street sweeper
CLEANING WORKER HAD MISTAKEN THEM FOR WEEDS
RESIDENTS were left heartbroken when their award-winning plants were mistakenly destroyed by a street sweeper.
Neighbours and children had planted the flowers along Ashmore Road during the lockdown to spruce up the area.
However, residents were left very unhappy when they saw their plants had been dug up and destroyed by a road sweeper who worked for the council’s cleaning partners Veolia.
Taking to NextDoor, one resident shared a series of pictures of the destroyed plants and said: “Can’t believe the road sweep destroyed the plants which neighbours have planted [which] we won an award.”
Along with a series of before and after pictures of the plants, the woman shared a video that showed the ruined plants over the path.
She said: “We planted flowers during lockdown 2020 [until] the present day. This was done by neighbours and children and we have won an award this year. It has made [a] difference on our road with pride – people come to see the work we have done on our road.”
One resident was unhappy to see the destroyed plants and commented: “Noooo, I know some are growing a little wild but that’s the point.”
Another added: “I was just about to plant up the area around the tree in front of my house... but if this guy is still allowed to ‘clear up’ I won’t obviously.”
According to a local resident, the council has since promised locals that they will give them some more plants and soil to replace their ruined work.
A spokesperson for Veolia said: “Street sweepers are required to remove weeds from tree bases as part of Veolia’s work, in partnership with Westminster City Council, to keep the streets of Westminster clean.
“Whilst working on Ashmore Road on Wednesday June 29, the street sweeper inadvertently cleared some flowers from a tree base that had been planted by local residents.
“We immediately apologised for this and are coordinating with Westminster City Council for replacement flowers and compost from Veolia to be delivered to the resident. We are currently looking at additional measures to highlight planted tree bases by residents to avoid this happening again.”