Council will no longer fund Kettering's roadside flower displays - so now another authority will pay them to do it

A town council is stepping in to pay for Kettering’s popular roadside floral displays to continue after a proposal to stop funding them.

North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) currently pays £26,700 a year for flowers at sites in the town, including in beautiful planters on railings at the hospital hill roundabout and beds in Northampton Road.

But a report has said that they have decided to ‘disinvest’ in providing them at highways sites from April 1 – and now Kettering Town Council (KTC) is set to pay them to do it to keep the service running.

Cllr Clark Mitchell (Lab, Avondale Grange), said he is glad the service will continue but feels taxpayers are effectively paying twice because it means KTC’s precept will go up but NNC’s council tax bill won’t come down.

He said: "This was always going to happen. When a unitary comes in they have to find savings and one way of doing it is stopping non-statutory services so others pay for them if they want them to continue.

"They’ve already done it with Kettering by the Sea and they’ve done it with the Christmas lights switch-on, which are now both funded by KTC. This is just the tip of the iceberg.”

KTC, which is led by Conservative Cllr Lloyd Bunday who is also NNC’s finance portfolio holder, will meet tonight (Wednesday) to decide whether to agree a budget of £28,000 for town planting schemes.

A report set to be discussed by councillors said: "It is suggested that the service is continued in 2024 by paying NNC to do what they have done to date, and to conduct a review, with them, in September 2024.”

The report added that there is the potential to put a joint entry into Britain in Bloom in 2024.

NNC’s costs include materials, plants, watering and associated management and administrative time. Planters and beds are filled each May and the plants are generally there until the end of October. There is watering regime of two or three times a week, depending on weather conditions. The displays each year are themed – 2024 will mark the Olympics and the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

Despite not funding flowers at highways sites, the report said NNC will continue to provide flower and planting schemes in parks and open spaces, and will maintain the new planters in Kettering town centre which are filled with perennials.

A North Northamptonshire Council spokesman said: “Details of all North Northamptonshire Council budget proposals for 2024/2025 are still being finalised and are due to be published on Wednesday (December 13).”