Newbury wildflowers accidentally get the chop – again

A wildflower meadow in Newbury has accidentally been cut by council contractors.

The wildflowers planted at City Recreation Ground, by Newbury Town Council, were mistakenly chopped on Monday, May 16.

This is the second time wildflowers have been accidentally cut in Newbury recently, with West Berkshire Council contractors doing the same to an area near the Tesco roundabout in April.

The City Recreation Ground project cost the town council around £2,000 and had been developing over the past two years.

Contractor Continental Landscapes has apologised for the mistake and agreed to pay for the restoration.

Newbury Town Council said the meadow was put together with the help of many hours of valuable community voluntary input.

The council’s Green Spaces team has received advice from head gardener at Highclere Castle, Paul Barker, and will immediately implement a plan for the restoration of the wildflower meadow.

The council said it regrets the damage caused and thanked the volunteers who helped.