The grass may not always be greener elsewhere – but at least it is real...

I read with disbelief the report (p4, Friday, August 19, 2022) that BMBC are still planning to install fake grass in the Hoyland flower bed, and the risible comments to attempt to justify this from Councillor Frost.

Councillor Frost justifies artificial grass as ‘part of a range of improvements to local high streets.’

How can it be an improvement to use plastic grass? How does this fit in with the BMBC green agenda?

He claims: ‘because it has been so successful and popular in the Glass Works’.

It is hard to understand how artificial grass can be “successful” and / or ‘popular’ – perhaps Councillor Frost can expand on his justification for this statement.

Perhaps from another consultation exercise that BMBC are so good at?

He describes it as ‘currently a planted bed’.

It has not been a planted bed all year, unless you count self-seeded weeds as ‘planted’.

He also saus it is a place ‘where people already try to sit on the edges but are limited due to the weather and ground conditions’.

What on earth is Councillor Frost on about here?

I can’t understand this statement unless Councillor Frost was unable to think of anything else remotely positive to say.

In happier times (less than four years ago) the flower bed looked like this:

On 30 May, just before the Jubilee, it was full of weeds:

And now, the fact that the planter is now clear of weeds is seen as an achievement

It could be so much better than this, with minimal effort and cost.

I really hope Councillor Frost and the other individuals involved in the fake grass plans will see sense before further money is frittered away on crackpot schemes like this (much too late for the mural, though) instead of where expenditure is really needed.

What other ‘range of improvements to local high streets’ have our BMBC councillors got planned for us? Why can’t they just get the basics right first?