06 July 2023 , 14:31
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Locals at a UK tourist hotspot are furious after a council has vowed to replace its hanging baskets for more eco-friendly 'plant pillars'.
Business owners in Salisbury said they were told to take down the floral decorations to make way for the more sustainable alternatives, which adorn lamp posts and are said to improve biodiversity.
But some fear the move will detract people from visiting the cathedral city's various shops and boozers adorned with the cheerful baskets.
Landlords at The Royal George pub in the city centre said the baskets help draw in customers, while also sharing their fears the switch will hit local flower suppliers hard.
Reece Brown, 25, and co-owner Mike, 36, who run the joint, said there was "no way" they'd be able to use the pillars.
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There are worries about how the change will impact local flower suppliers (Loop Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)“We have three hanging baskets ourselves which look absolutely beautiful and we get comments from customers and passersby all the time and it brings people into the pub," the business owners told the Express.
“It’s a little bit of a sneak peek of what we have out in the garden as well, so for this ban to be happening is a little bit absurd because it just then doesn’t bring that attraction to the facia of the pub.”
The pair said it would be impossible for them to put up the living pillars planned by Salisbury City Council, who told The Mirror the plan was simply to make the street displays more environmentally friendly following last summer's scorching temperatures and subsequent droughts.
Pub owners say the flower baskets help lure in customers (Loop Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)Mike said: “We’re looking at living pillars and there is no way we would be allowed to do anything like a living pillar outside the Royal George.”
Landlord Reece added: “We get our hanging baskets from a little independent company. They get a lot of money from hanging baskets and they do pretty much all the pubs in Salisbury so I’m sure they’re going to take a massive hit financially from that.”
Tory councillor Eleanor Wills also criticised the move, saying the switch would actually be worse for the environment.
Salisbury's high street (Getty Images/iStockphoto)“It's absolutely not what residents wanted to see or hear and I think it really speaks to the fact that the current council administration are pushing their own ideology above what residents want,” said Cllr Wills.
“It’s much more about air pollution and the health of the community, how we increase biodiversity, it's got nothing to do with things like ‘Do we keep hanging baskets or not?’ That just doesn’t help anybody.”
A spokeswoman for Salisbury City Council said: “The City Council has not banned hanging baskets in the city. It has agreed to replace its own hanging baskets with more sustainable planting next year, taking into account the recent hot summer.”