Half the price at Bunnings: Row over Sydney council’s $20m planter boxes

3 months ago 7

A row has erupted over the cost of displaying colourful flower boxes in Sydney’s CBD after figures revealed the city council splashed almost $20 million on a contract for its urban greening program.

New financial statements by the City of Sydney show the council has paid $19.6 million hiring a Melbourne-based company to install mobile planter boxes in high-pedestrian areas as part of a program aimed at beautifying city streets and “encouraging the community to engage with ornamental horticulture”.

Councillor Matthew Thompson outside Sydney Town Hall – just one of the locations where the council’s planter boxes are located.

The contract, awarded to Citywide Service Solutions, is one of the most expensive entered into by any NSW council last financial year and outstrips the funds the council spent on other high-priority programs including food support, social and community grants.

The program has come under scrutiny from several councillors including the Greens’ Matthew Thompson, who raised concerns over its scale in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis.

“Sure, the plants beautify our city but they’re also really temporary and at a time when we have community groups, artists and organisations that provide food support desperate for funding, the plant boxes aren’t really helping those people in need.”

Details of the contract for the CBD planter boxes have been made public.

Greens councillor Sylvie Ellsmore said she was equally “challenged” by the pricetag, calling for the council to “have a conversation” with the community about whether the decision passes the pub test.

She also argued the council’s spending on some plants was 50 per cent higher than the cost of the same plants “down at Bunnings” and suggested it could get more bang for its buck by having its staff manage the program.

“The symbolism of the beautiful planter boxes amid an increase in rough sleepers on the streets is not to be lost on anybody and I don’t think the public’s love of the planter boxes would continue if they knew how much we spent on them,” she said.

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore defended the spending, arguing the planter boxes were not only loved by the community, but a “stunning” addition to CBD streets.

“[The program] brings a lot of joy to people and dramatically improves the sometimes harsh environment of the city,” she said.

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover said the planter boxes were loved by the community.

Team Clover councillor Adam Worling also defended the urban greening program, taking aim at Greens councillors for criticising an initiative aimed at reducing the city’s carbon footprint.

“Every single plant in our city helps cool our city [and] it seems madness when everything is heating up you want to remove the one thing that is cooling it down,” he said.

Details published by the council show the $19.6 million five-year contract includes the supply of both native and exotic species in areas where permanent plants cannot be located. The report did not elaborate on the costs of each planter box due to “fluctuations” in plant numbers and sizes.

‘The symbolism of the beautiful planter boxes amid an increase in rough sleepers on the streets is not to be lost on anybody.’

Greens councillor Sylvie Ellsmore

A council spokesman said the program was an important part of the council’s commitment to boost the CBD’s green cover to 40 per cent by 2050.

“Our preference is to install permanent plants where we can [however] this isn’t always possible because many parts of our area don’t have adequate access to sunlight as well as good quality soil, nutrients and water. Permanent plantings in some of these locations could also suffer from damage due to a high number of people moving around,” he said.

Financial records published by the council show the contract’s cost has risen from $12.9 million in 2020 to $19.6 million this year, which the council attributed to the increased scope of the program that now includes an extra 200 planter boxes.

“These help beautify the city’s pedestrian spine and bring greenery to an otherwise largely hard surface area, while helping manage vehicular and foot traffic,” the council spokesman said.

A majority of councillors, at a meeting where the contract was discussed, rejected a proposal to trim it back to $1 million per year and redirect remaining funds to other programs including permanent native planting.

A council report stated all potted plants deemed in suitable condition after annual displays are given away to community groups, reused in parks or street gardens while plants that are damaged, at end of life or in poor condition are taken to a nursery facility to be separated into green waste, soil, and pots.