BEAUTIFUL flower displays on roundabouts across
North Hertfordshire will not be dug up or left to die because
of a council's mistake.
Following a query about its interpretation of the planning
rules, North Hertfordshire District Council (NHDC) retrospectively
applied for planning permission from itself for the sponsorship
signs on its floral roundabouts.
Numerous businesses currently provide financial help to the
collective tune of about £11,000 a year towards the
upkeep of the displays on 18 roundabouts in North Hertfordshire,
in return for small advertising plaques on the relevant roundabouts.
Planning permission was granted at a meeting of NHDC's planning
control committee last Thursday.
If the council had failed to get the required permission,
it had not ruled out the possibility that flowers may have
to be dug up or left to die, or money taken from another
part of its budget to maintain them.
Alan Lupton, chairman of Letchworth Garden City Society,
said: "A sensible conclusion has been reached. The floral
displays are lovely to have, particularly in Letchworth as
it is a garden city, but a number of towns will benefit from
this decision."
Jane Clark, vice chairman of Hitchin Society, said: "I think
the sponsors of the roundabouts do a lovely job and the floral
displays really do brighten up all the towns. They are really
delightful to look at and I'm very happy and pleased that
they will stay. |