Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Concrete U-turn as floral clock to be restored after local outcry
AWEST town’s floral clock display which was covered in concrete will be replanted with flowers, a council has said.
People in Weston-super-Mare were furious after the local Lions Club concreted over the 89-year-old feature, saying no one would volunteer to water it.
But North Somerset Council now says it will be turned back into a floral display.
Councillor Mike Solomon, North Somerset Council’s Executive Member for Culture and Leisure, said: “We’ve listened to feedback from residents who are concerned by recent changes made to the floral clock in Weston-super-Mare. We’re acting quickly to respond.
“Following an urgent meeting with the Lions Club of Weston-superMare, who maintain the site, we’ve agreed that North Somerset Council will remove the concrete and restore flowerbeds.
“We hope to work with volunteers on this project to make the site the best it can be. We will continue to work closely alongside the Lions Club to finalise plans for the future of the floral clock. We want to again thank them for volunteering their time and effort for many years to maintain this space.
“In this current financial climate, when we’re all feeling the squeeze, it would be impossible for us to look after the clock without the hard work of volunteers and the goodwill of the community.”
Weston-super-Mare’s Lions had been maintaining the town’s muchloved floral clock for the past 10 years.
But they said they could not maintain the flowers any longer and decided to make it easier to look after.
Chick Parkin, president of the Weston Lions, told the BBC: “Over the last three years we found it harder and harder to look after the clock.”
“We put out a plea last year for people to come out and help us water it, but only two people reacted to our cry for help.”
If you’re interested in volunteering with the Weston-super-Mare Lions Club, you can contact them at www. wsmlions.co.uk or via Facebook (lionsclubwsm).
If you’d like to sponsor the floral clock, please contact North Somerset Council’s communications team via