Blooming great idea to boost town’s Tour de France image!
It was announced last month that the town would host the start of the third day of the event, which is widely recognised as the world’s biggest spectator sporting spectacle.
Thousands of people are expected to head into the Welshpool area, and millions more will watch worldwide when the event gets into gear outside the Town Hall.
Plans are coming together to ensure we are ready, and at last night’s Welshpool Town Council meeting, the Mayor revealed that new flower beds are being considered.
His comments came as the Town Council mulled an idea of adopting the two flower beds from Powys County Council outside the NFU, which have drawn huge criticism for their state in recent years.
“We’re going to have a lot more planting in the town in advance of the Tour de France, some of that is going to be permanent and it will stay in the town afterwards,” said Cllr Phil Owen, who is a part of the Tour de France planning talks with the regional authority.
“We are going to have the same problem with that as we currently have with the flowerbeds outside NFU. I would be in favour of the Town Council acquiring ownership of those, and possibly any other planting that we do in conjunction with Powys in the run-up to the Tour de France.
“We do need to find out some way of maintaining it (afterwards) and we either do that ourselves or someone else. I know that the Rotary Club are keen to get involved. But we need to take control over those things because they are important to the town visually, even if we don’t do the work ourselves."
Town Clerk Richard Williams explained that there were a couple of organisations interested in adopting the flower beds should the Town Council be able to take them on.
But Cllr Nick Howells, who once ran the volunteer Welshpool Ground Force, warned that “it was surprising just how quickly the enthusiasm fell away”.
“People got a little bit fed up of doing the work that Powys County Council should be doing,” he said. “What next? People getting buckets of tarmac and filling potholes?”
Councillors agreed to adopt the flower beds outside NFU, allowing the Town Clerk to start negotiating with Powys County Council.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|