Alsager is set to look radiant this summer with several colourful hanging baskets spread across the town centre which will bolster residents' spirits a councillor has claimed.

At Tuesday's Alsager Town Council meeting of the Civic and Services Committee, councillors discussed a £350 funding request from Alsager in Bloom.

The funding would come from the town council's general contingency budget and would be provided in addition to Alsager in Bloom's 2021/22 grant funding to fully fund hanging baskets in the town centre, which would be implemented from June.

The in bloom group are not asking shop keepers or businesses to contribute to the cost of hanging baskets (£25 per basket) this year due to the financial hardship Covid-19 has brought.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the group has not been able to carry out any fundraising activities.

The group felt the town needed to be "bright" to "lift spirits and make the town cheerful and inviting".

Speaking at Tuesday's meeting, Nicola Clarke, town clerk of the council, revealed that Alsager in Bloom currently had £1,440 in the bank.

However, they were looking to spend between £3,700 and £3,900 over the summer on hanging baskets and plants.

Mrs Clarke told the committee that the group wanted to leave a contingency of around £500 in their budget for an Alsager in Bloom competition to be potentially arranged.

The group also wants to purchase wildflower seeds, to seed all the "beautiful" areas across the town.

Alsager in Bloom usually package up wildflower seeds and sell them for £1 as part of their annual fundraising campaign.

Speaking on the £350 funding request, Cllr Julian Goodrich said: "I think the idea of the hanging baskets is a good one.

"Hopefully the town will be opening up again and people will be coming back onto the streets and seeing the town."

However, the Conservative councillor queried whether there was not another way to fund the money requested.

He added: "Rather than just everything always coming from the town council would it be possible for it to be funded differently.

"Maybe applying to Alsager Round Table or even sharing a GoFundMe page across the social media community groups to see if people wanted to contribute instead of it coming straight from the council coffers.

"I think it might be a nice idea to see if we can get funding from the people of the town because we might get more money than this and brighten the town up even more."

Having hanging baskets and wildflower seeds planted across Alsager was something Cllr Derek Hough felt there was a "great need" for.

Cllr June Buckley, who is a member of Alsager in Bloom, stressed that in "normal times" the group's entire funding does not come from the town council.

The Liberal Democrat councillor highlighted that the in bloom group's funding pre Covid-19 was made up through the town council (40%), sales of hanging baskets to shops (35%) and the remaining 25 per cent came through fundraising.

Responding to Cllr Goodrich's remarks, Cllr Buckley said: "I have put a great deal of effort into the fundraising over the last few years. So, I think it is disingenuous of you to say it all comes from the town council, it doesn't.

"This year all we are asking for is the town council to give us this grant and then we want to put as many hanging baskets in the town as possible.

"We will not get as many [hanging baskets] as usual because we will not have the normal amount of money. We have usually spent between £5,500 and £6,000 annually.

"We feel that the town this year needs to look as bright and cheerful as possible to raise people's spirits and mental health."

Cllr Pauline Hubbard, chair of the civic and services committee, proposed the in bloom group's request for an additional £350 should go before the town council's grants panel.

The grants panel will meet to discuss the application on 23rd March prior to a finance meeting, where a final decision on the grant's proposal scheduled for the same evening will be made.

If the application were approved, it would mean the £350 would be released to the in bloom group for this financial year.

Councillors also approved the request from Alsager in Bloom for payment of their grant funding for the financial year 2021/22 of £2,275 on 1st April 2021.