Blooming great victory for Chatteris residents after hanging baskets finally go up following health and safety ruling

Residents have won their battle against a health and safety ban that stopped them putting up an award winning floral display.

Members of Chatteris in Bloom were told last month new council rules meant it would cost them £300 to put up their hanging baskets.

They were stunned to be told they had to complete a safety course or hire a contractor.

There were fears over electrocution from hanging the baskets on lampposts which meant the group, which have won gold at Britain in Bloom, were not able to hang their own baskets.

But yesterday (June 4), the group were victorious as they found a way around the council's new rules and their flowers finally went up.

Group president Sue Unwin thanked the community after a member of another volunteer team - Chatteris Christmas Lights - with the safety certificate volunteered to help.

Mrs Unwin said: "When they were up, they were up and when they were down, they were down.

"Today is the day our hanging baskets go up and we start planting for the summer season."

Chatteris in Bloom have won six gold awards for their floral displays in the town in Cambs and in 2023, took every accolade as part of Anglian Bloom.

The group, run by volunteers who often have full-time jobs alongside their committee roles, put up 40 baskets each year with two on each lamppost in May.

This year the hanging baskets went up a little later - owing to the dispute with the council.

Mrs Unwin had previously criticised the "red tape" and said the council were killing community spirit.

She said: "We've come up against red tape all the time and it’s getting harder and harder to do things.

"We’re losing our community spirit, especially since we give our own free time to do these nice things for the town - and this is what we get back.

"There is a bigger picture to this - no one wants to be bogged down with paperwork when all we want to do is plant flowers."