Meadow is cut to leave wildflower scheme in tatters

Howard Baxter, of Pullman Court, contacted South Holland District Council last summer to see if he could plant a wildflower meadow on an area of grassed public open space near his home.
After initially getting the green light and then sowing the seeds for his plan in October, Mr Baxter returned from a short break last week to find that the area had been by completely cut back by the council.

He explained: “I went to the parks department last year with my idea and they were very enthusiastic about it.

“They came out to see me and I was allocated an area where I planted the wildflowers at the back end of the year.

“We’ve had a cold spring though and they’ve not had chance to grow through, but the buttercups were just starting to show.

“I then went away for a few days and, when I returned, what I had planted had been mowed down.

“I was shocked – the area had been completely obliterated.”

Mr Baxter immediately contacted the council’s parks department who claimed the area had become overgrown, leaving them with no option but to cut it back.

He continued: “They said I wasn’t looking after it properly and they’d had complaints from residents.

“The seeds were just starting to come through so surely they could have picked up the phone and talked about it.

“I thought we had a working partnership and I was looking forward to developing it.

“You go into the foyer of the South Holland District Council offices and one of their aims is to co-operate and cement relationships with local people.

“I thought we had an arrangement in place which they were very enthusiastic about, but that’s gone by the board now.”

A council spokesman said: “We previously made an arrangement with a resident who we understood would maintain the site.

“We are aware of the current situation and will work to resolve it as soon as possible.”