Gardens cuts plan provokes ire among islanders
TV presenter hits out at council bid to scrap Bute’s famous flowerbeds
BEECHGROVE gardener Jim McColl has backed a campaign by locals on Bute to prevent council plans to scrap the island’s famed flowerbeds.
Argyll and Bute Council has proposed the cut as part of a raft of savings in its upcoming budget.
However, residents claim the move could spell disaster for the island by severely damaging its tourist trade.
They have launched a petition calling for the proposal to be scrapped – and have secured the backing of gardening guru Mr McColl, who visited Rothesay in the summer to film an episode of the BBC programme.
Mr McColl said: “It’s diabolical. The island has lots of other very attractive features but the fact of the matter is that the principal town on the island has a reputation that goes back a long way and the flowers and gardens are a big part of that.
“The flower displays are stunning. We moved about the island quite a bit when we were filming there and it was just fabulous; people couldn’t help but be uplifted by it.
“The island has a special climate which allows different types of plants to grow there. It ’ s pr e t t y special and it’s all part of the picture and make up of the island.”
Rothesay is famous for its beautiful blooms and recently won a Beautiful Scotland award.
The council claims scrapping flower beds and rose and shrub beds in certain parts of Bute and elsewhere in the authority could save up to £103,000 a year.
However, Mr McColl questioned what impact their removal would have on tourism. He added: “Why do people go to Rothesay? They go for the atmosphere and beauty of the place and the flowers and plants really add to that.”
A consultation on the cuts has been running on the council’s website since October and concluded yesterday.
The campaigners plan to hand in the petition to officials before the end of January, ahead of the final decision being taken on the proposals at the council’s budget meeting on February 11.
Local independent councillor Robert MacIntyre is also opposed to the cuts and claims the proposal to remove the flower beds has angered the local community.
“If this is carried through it will be a major blow for the island”, he said. “The proposal has already provoked outrage from the local community and quite rightly so.
“People come to Rothesay to see the gardens. In the summer they sit along the front, enjoying them.
“If you take that away it will devastate this island.”
A spokeswoman for Argyll and Bute Council said the council has to make savings as it faces an estimated budget gap of between £21.7 and £26 million, meaning a savings target of around £9 million in both 2016/17 and 2017/18, with further savings in future years.
She said no final decision would be taken until February and the consultation responses will be taken into consideration.
The spokeswoman added: “We need to decide how we can make best use of the resources we have.
“Our first choice would be to do all that our communities want us to do, and to protect our employees from the uncertainty of change. However reduced funding means we must transform how we work.”