Flag bid for unity
THERE have been calls for a U-turn on a controversial decision to shut a council-owned plant nursery.
The site off the A62 Leeds Road at Bradley in Huddersfield was closed in 2016 on the orders of Kirklees Council, which said plants and flowers grown by its gardeners could be sourced more cheaply elsewhere.
Annual savings were said to be £169,000.
It brought to an end 150 years of municipal plant growing. As well as growing thousands of bedding plants the team provided flower tubs, displays and hanging baskets for royal visits, pop concerts, the borough’s town halls and mayoral events including the annual mayor-making ceremony.
But since closure the derelict 4.7 acre site - said to be worth in the region of £1m - has become a magnet for vandals.
What’s more, despite being touted as prime building land, the “strategic” site and its glasshouse - listed as a Priority Employment Area in the council’s Local Plan - has not been sold.
Senior Labour councillor Graham Turner said: “The old nursery site is being considered as part of the ongoing review of all our assets. Once that review is complete if it has no strategic value it will be placed on the open market.”
The move to shut the nursery incensed parks staff, who said the decision had been taken “with unseemly haste”.
And they disputed the council’s figures, claiming an independent audit estimated that outsourcing would save just £25,000.
Former council gardener Pete Fawcett, from Cleckheaton, said: “The Bradley Nurseries were closed in 2016 as a matter of ‘urgency’ as the site was required. Yet in 2021 the nursery is exactly as it was left by the redundant gardeners in 2016. There are still trays of plants on the floor.”
Mr Fawcett has been fiercely critical of the council’s decision to buy elsewhere.
Some plant growing was outsourced to Darlington Council, which had no facilities of its own but supplied 23 other local authorities using a thirdparty provider.
Kirklees opted to buy other items such as hanging baskets from a private nursery near Wakefield.
Among those who strongly opposed the nursery closure was Clr Kath Pinnock (Lib Dem, Cleckheaton), who said the council was guilty of “a complete lack of understanding” of the value of floral displays. She wants the facility re-opened.
She said: “Five years later and the reality is that buying in the plants is costing more than home-produced ones and the nursery site is abandoned, vandalised and not sold.
“Those decisions rank among the very worst that the council’s Cabinet has ever made. First of all the decision to reduce floral decorations in our towns, villages, and parks demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of the importance of floral displays.
“Flowers in towns and villages shows a pride in place. Their very presence encourages a more caring attitude.
“Visitors are encouraged by bright baskets and tubs of seasonal flowers. Parks become welcoming places to sit, admire, and enjoy.
“During this last year, increasing numbers have turned to gardening but, sadly, not Kirklees Council.
“Scientists advise that flowers raise dopamine and serotonin levels which, in turn help our well-being. Flowers are - literally - good for you.”
Clr Pinnock contends that the Bradley Nursery was among the few local places where apprentices in horticulture could be trained.
“It did what councils should do - provide training opportunities, create attractive parks, provide a welcoming feature in our town centres.
“The decision to close the nursery was when the council turned its back on those positives. The fact that the site has lain empty and abandoned for five long years is even more a failure of local government.” Former nurseries manager Paul Marshall said the effect on the closure on staff had been “soul destroying”. He added: “Looking back it seems very strange. I can’t understand the council. Plants and flowers cheer people up. We need that in these times.”
The Union flag is to be flown on all UK Government buildings every day in a bid to unite the nation, new guidance has set out.
At present, Union flags are only required to be flown on all UK Government buildings on designated days, but the new guidance from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport will ask for it to be flown all the time. Government ministers said it would be a “proud reminder of our history and the ties that bind us”.
Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary Robert Jenrick has written to all councils in England in a bid to encourage them to fly the flag.
The move will also allow dual flagging where two flags can be flown on one pole.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said: “The Union flag unites us as a nation and people rightly expect it to be flown above UK Government buildings. This guidance will ensure that happens every day. Our nation’s flag is a symbol of liberty, unity and freedom.”