Residents blooming outraged by hanging basket rule
Residents in a market town that has awards for its floral displays have been told to complete a £165 safety course or hire a contractor to hang baskets on streetlights following new council rules.
Chatteris in Bloom members have won gold at Britain in Bloom and Anglia in Bloom, but this year have been hit with regulations from Cambridgeshire County Council.
Group president Sue Unwin, 64, said "bureaucracy was going to kill community spirit", with volunteers giving enough of their own time and money towards the arrangements.
The council said because the streetlights were connected to the power grid it needed to "ensure everyone's safety".
The group's award-winning displays are usually adorned on 20 lampposts and are put up with the help of a local farmer and a telehandler each May, before judging begins in July.
The county council said the new safety course would last a day, but if the group already had a qualified member they would be able to hang the baskets - once the council approved their application.
"It has become impossible with the bureaucracy and red tape," Mrs Unwin said.
"There's some jobsworth in the county council who has made this decision... we have been doing this for over 18 years. None of us have that capability or the money - we give enough of our time.
"We do everything properly and this bureaucracy is going to kill community spirit because we are getting fed up with this. We work hard to make our town look nice. Why can't they leave us alone to get on with it?"
Maggie Manders, 76, from Chatteris, said the hanging baskets were an important part of the displays.
"You can't just have the flowers, the hanging baskets do make it... you can't have the fish without the chips," she said.
"It would make my day if they let us have it. We love Chatteris in Bloom, please let us have this."
A Cambridgeshire County Council spokesperson said: "It's great seeing the creative ways that communities across the county make use of streetlights with festive displays.
"As streetlights are directly connected to the local power grid, to ensure everyone's safety any group wishing to display items from a streetlight needs to get in touch with the council so we can make sure essential independent safety training is completed for everyone's wellbeing.
"We look forward to hearing from Chatteris in Bloom."
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