Totnes Town Councillors have agreed to reduce the number of their on-pavement planters in the town centre to help cut ongoing maintenance costs. The decision was made at the Council Matters committee meeting on 14 October 2024. 12 of the 28 Town Council and Visit Totnes planters will be removed by the end of 2024, and those that are still in good repair will be offered for free to local community groups and schools.
Cllr Emily Price, Mayor of Totnes, explains: ““Budgets are tighter than ever and we must continue to carefully scrutinise everything we do. That way we can make sure we are spending the Town Council portion of our residents’ Council Tax as effectively as possible.
“Watering, planting, and maintaining the planters currently takes our town maintenance team a lot of time, especially in the summer. That costs money and takes the team away from other tasks to help keep the town looking its best. We are very fortunate that the brilliant Totnes Gardens has helped us by planting four of the planters on Coronation Road with the help of a grant from the Town Council, but quite understand that they do not have the time or resources to undertake watering of these planters or to look after all of the planters throughout the town. Unfortunately, some of the planters have been repeatedly vandalised, used as bins, or as somewhere to sit, meaning they sometimes look tired despite our best efforts.
“The planters were originally purchased with a COVID government grant to enable better social distancing as well as to improve the appearance of the town. Businesses were given the opportunity to advertise on the planters. This was offered at cost price as a form of support for them and did not cover the administrative time to co-ordinate, resulting in an additional ongoing cost to the Council.
“Earlier this year we carried out a review to identify if providing and maintaining planters represents good value for money for our residents. This identified that as well as the ongoing maintenance and administration costs, investment was also needed to replace some of the planters. As we luckily no longer need to social-distance, and because of the frequent issues with vandalism, we have decided that Town Council resources could be spent more effectively elsewhere. As a result, we will be removing 12 of the planters by the end of this year and will remove a further 12 by the end of 2025.”
Community groups or schools interested in reusing a wooden planter should contact reception@totnestowncouncil.gov.uk Businesses who have previously advertised on the planters that are being removed will be offered their advertising board for free. The remaining Town Council and Visit Totnes planters will continue to be cared for by the Town Council.