STAPLE Hill & Mangotsfield Parish Council and Downend in Bloom have both been given grants to help brighten up high streets in a sustainable way.
South Gloucestershire Council has awarded a total of £32,000 in grant funding to 12 community-led projects to “Green the High Street”.
The funding will support projects that use planters instead of hanging baskets, nurture “climate-resilient” plants, add more trees and creating havens for wildlife and pollinating insects.
The grants were offered to organisations that had come up with environmentally friendly ways adding plants to high streets, using money from the government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
The money given to Staple Hill & Mangotsfield Parish Council is to add sustainable, pollinator-friendly planting to existing planters such as those in Fountain Square.
The council is planning community sessions to plant and maintain the planters, and hopes to encourage further greening projects in the area.
Parish council chair Ian Campbell said: “I’m delighted that we have secured this funding.
“The grant will enable us to continue the great work already carried out on the High Street by the community, with an emphasis on enhancing the look to attract more visitors to our brilliant businesses and markets.”
Downend & Bromley Heath in Bloom has been given a grant to add an extra three planters to the high street area.
South Gloucestershire cabinet councillor for local place Leigh Ingham said: “Urban settings such as town centres don’t have to be places where biodiversity and nature can’t thrive; this funding will help projects that support the local environment while making our high streets places people want to visit and spend their time.
“In order to become net-zero, we all need to play our part and work together to understand how street planting can impact climate change, improve air quality and provide vital wildlife habitats.
“I want to thank those who are putting the environment first and thinking of future generations.”
For more information on sustainable planting, including the best plants to choose, visit www.southglos.gov.uk/GHSG.
The council is inviting independent traders to contact its high streets team to find out what support is available at highstreets@southglos.gov.uk