Council swaps real flowers for fakes to save money

The latest money-saving idea to help cash-strapped South Tyneside Council is, quite literally, not to be sniffed at. As part of their bid to save £35m over the next year council bosses have turned to flashing the plastic - plastic flowers.

For a trial period the fake blooms have been placed in hanging baskets outside South Shields Town Hall, as maintenance costs for real flowers are expensive. A council spokesman said: “A significant reduction in the Government funding we receive has left us facing a £35m budget gap in 2011/12.



“This means we must continue to review all of our services and explore new models of service delivery. During our extensive budget consultation, we received feedback that some local authorities are trialling the use of artificial flowers to reduce their maintenance costs.

“Our trial is for hanging baskets only because the maintenance costs associated with them are high. The trial does not affect other forms of planting across the borough.” He added: “As with any trial, we will be considering feedback before making a decision on its future.”