Future of Crewkerne's blooming baskets hangs in balance

More than 60 hanging baskets are displayed around Crewkerne each summer

A town's horticultural reputation hangs in the balance due to looming council cuts.

Crewkerne in Bloom (CiB) has used Somerset Council's Lufton nursery in Yeovil since 2018 to prepare and store its award-winning hanging baskets.

But with a question mark over the nursery's future it is trying to find a new location.

The CiB committee is appealing for a farmer or someone else with a large polytunnel to step in.

Volunteers have been using the council's nursery polytunnels to make up their displays for years

Kathy Head, chair of CiB, went to put in their order for this summer in January to be told the nursery "wasn't taking any orders for the moment because there was a possibility they would be part of the cuts".

The nursery usually supplies plants for around 60 hanging baskets and eight troughs, allowing CiB volunteers to plant and then store the displays for a few weeks until businesses are ready to display them.

Crewkerne in Bloom has won three gold medals at South West in Bloom in the last six years.

Chair of Crewkerne in Bloom Kathy Head is appealing for help from local farmers

"The nursery staff water them, keep them in a polytunnel and keep an eye on them until we're ready to collect them," said Mrs Head.

"We don't have anywhere in Crewkerne to store that amount of hanging baskets.

"We can source our plants elsewhere but what we are really after is a farmer or somebody local to Crewkerne with a very large polytunnel with a water supply that will allow us to store our hanging baskets at their place.

"It could be a greenhouse, but it would need to be a very big one," added Mrs Head.

The baskets are stored and watered by council staff until businesses in Crewkerne are ready to receive them

She said they need to find a solution for this summer's displays by the end of February as that is when local businesses sign up to display the baskets.

CiB then puts an order in for the plants.

Somerset Council is proposing to save £132,000 over the next two years by closing its two plant nurseries in Yeovil and Taunton as part of budget proposals which will be voted on, on 20 February.

The authority says it is looking to close a £100m projected overspend in its budget for the 2024/25 financial year.

The council said the costs of delivering services, particularly adult social care, were rising significantly faster than income.

It has also blamed national factors such as inflation and higher interest rates.