Town lifts hanging basket 'ban'

The baskets were thought to be too heavy for the town's old lampposts

Hanging baskets will continue to feature in a town's summer floral displays after fears they would be banned due to safety concerns.

In February, Suffolk County Council ruled there was a risk the baskets in Bury St Edmunds could fall from lampposts and injure the public.

The decision angered the Bury in Bloom committee, which prepares the town's annual flower displays.

Now the council has said the baskets were safe.

But it has been decided the posts they hang from will be checked to make sure they are strong enough, and replaced if they are not.

'Can-do approach'

County Councillor Julian Swainson said they never intended banning the baskets, and had always wanted to see if there was a way to maintain safety and floral decoration.

"In Suffolk we have a can-do approach, and we say no, let's see if we can help and get the flower displays up.

"And that's what's happened here."

Last year Bury St Edmunds was the winner of the best large town in regional Anglia in Bloom event.

The council felt they could present a safety hazard on some of the older lampposts.

"We have to be satisfied that the columns are strong and stable enough to take the weight," he said.