A local council which declared bankruptcy last year is thought to have shelled out nearly £40,000 on office plants that now appear to be dying.
Slough Borough Council purchased 200 indoor plants for its £41million Observatory House HQ to promote health and wellbeing at work, only for the shrubs to be left to deteriorate in ‘totally empty’ offices as staff take advantage of the hybrid working policy.
The authority has been slammed by local councillors, who claim the plants are part of a ‘vanity project’ which is taking up ‘staff and cleaner time’ even though the offices are ‘totally empty’ as staff work from home.
The local authority forked out £28,000 on the plants, set across five floors and including plant walls, and had planned on getting in contractors to water them, costing a further £20,000.
But the Labour-run authority in Berkshire was forced to terminate the contract last year, having already spent £10,000, as it declared bankruptcy with £760million in debt.
According to The Telegraph, £38,000 was spent in total on plants that are now sporting brown and yellow leaves.
Council Leader James Swindlehurst has admitted that he, other councillors, staff and volunteers have taken up the mantle of watering the dying plants in their own time.
But their efforts have been mocked by locals and political rivals as photographs show how much the plants have deteriorated.
Speaking at a council meeting, Independent Councillor Madhuri Bedi branded the plant spend a ‘vanity project’ and added: ‘[Cllr Swindlehurst] said staff and cleaners are helping, but that’s wrong in itself – is that in cleaner and staff time? It’s ludicrous.
‘He’s telling me to join him. Well no thank you, I’d like to look after the residents of Slough thanks.’
At the meeting on May 19, Cllr Bedi claimed the council spent as much as £50,000 on plants, and that the offices, which opened in 2019, are now ‘totally empty’ as staff continue to work from home under a new hybrid working policy.
However, a council spokesperson denied this and said they had ‘no idea’ where the figure had come from. They said they could not confirm the actual figure as the cost had been part of the ‘overall fit of the building’.
The spokesperson added that the photographs had been taken ‘on a Friday in the quieter parts of the building’ and did not reflect staffing levels in the office.
Conservative Councillor Wayne Strutton said: ‘We have to worry about how much time the leadership team is using and wasting on watering the plants because he’s [Cllr Swindlehurst] already said how much time he’s dedicating to that.
‘He said all the plants are alive. If you walk around the building, the plants are dying and the spaces are empty. Let’s be honest with the truth and not mislead people.’
In a earlier meeting, he added: ‘Hope his care and attention to the Slough’s finances are providing better results than his plant investment for the town.’
The offices now face being sold off, and government commissioners have told the council its libraries, children’s centres, community hubs and housing stock could also be at risk.
Locals have also been reacting to the images of the dying plants. Teresa Mynett said: ‘I won’t be asking him to look after my plants.
‘If that is how they thrive in his care, then heaven help Slough.’
Another, Shama Jain Benipal, said: ‘Wow. That’s a lot of dead leaves.’
According to the Telegraph, the council now have to tackle root flies as they have nested in the offices because of all the plants.
A Slough Borough Council spokesperson denied the plants were dying, adding: ‘One brown leaf does not make a dead plant.’
‘Our headquarters is certainly not empty – indeed many staff are working from the building on a permanent or hybrid way,’ they said.
‘Even before the pandemic we had embraced smart working and discussions, when we took over the building, included the potential of renting out floors which were not required for our staff. Unfortunately the pandemic put pay to that plan.
Current the council occupies ground to the third floor, the fourth floor is occupied by Slough Children First (the company which runs children’s services) and the fifth floor is empty, though was recently used for our local election count.
‘As part of our requirement to sell £600million of our assets we are considering all our buildings including our current HQ. The phrase used currently – as no formal decision has been made – is ‘it is very likely’ that in the future we will move out of Observatory House. However what assets we hold, which, how and when we sell them remains under discussion.
‘Either way, whilst we are there, we are thankful to the volunteers amongst both the staff and members who continue to keep the plants watered, free of charge, so there is a nicer environment for staff.’