A HUGE CUT in spending on flowerbeds could see parks, villages and town centres bereft of colour, warns a councillor.

Adrian Naylor claims that Bradford Council’s plans to slash budgets by 80 per cent have not been thought through properly.

He is concerned that parish councils and community groups are being expected to pick up the costs of buying, planting and maintaining flowers in their areas.

He said: “Flowerbeds are there to make places attractive for people to visit. They support the vibrancy of the town. People don’t come to a place that looks as if it’s full of weeds.”

Cllr Naylor, who serves on both Bradford and Silsden councils, spoke out following the release of a report to the district’s five area committees detailing where the proposed cuts would fall.

Keighley Area Committee will tonight discuss the plans to cut the annual budget for summer bedding plants in the Keighley and Ilkley constituency from £87,500 to £17,500. The constituency currently receives almost half the council’s annual spending on flowerbeds.

The council has suggested several options for the future, including grassing over some flowerbeds, reducing the size or density of others, and continuing to plant a very limited number of high-profile beds.

Parish councils could be asked to raise money for local flowerbeds through their precept to villagers, while voluntary groups could grow plants.

The favoured option is to have permanently-planted flowerbeds, with plants that flower at different times during the year.

These beds would be refreshed during the quieter winter months by parks staff, with routine maintenance carried out by local residents including new ‘friends of the flower’ groups.

Cllr Naylor said: “These proposals don’t seem to have been thought through. There are no costings.

“If you’re going to talk to voluntary groups or parish councils about taking on the job, they will want to know how much it will cost them.

“Silsden Park has 2,386 plants. If someone decides to take on that task, do they buy the plants on the open market or grow them themselves? That’s not really viable.”

Cllr Naylor feared towns and villages entering 'In Bloom' competitions would face a massive increase in work, because they would no longer receive support from council gardening staff.