Winter makes its advance on Forres

AS WINTER makes it advance, the sun is still shining brightly on our town, with the news that the Forres in Bloom committee has scooped yet another award.

There is so much Silverware in the Bloom trophy cabinet that it is becoming hard to keep up, and maybe easy to become a bit complacent, but in these days of budget cuts and the difficulties in getting volunteers, it is no mean feat winning an award.

The floral efforts of the town have been recognised with a Gold medal, thanks to the joint partnership working between volunteers, floral committe and council which has received special praise.

This shouldn’t be overlooked as the council often comes in for criticsm from local communities for pressing on, without proper consultation, often against public opinion, or without proper explanation, but the fact that there has been co-operation on this occasion, has reaped dividends for everyone and those involved should give themselves a pat on the back.

On this occasion, the dedication of the parks team has been commended, and they are a valuable part of the whole joint Forres in Bloom effort.

Those who roll their eyes at mention of the floral work and litter picking activities which keep the town looking spotless ahead of judging day would do well to remember that Forres has a repuation for its floral crown and during the sumer months, we have become accostomed to seeing visitors in Grant Park, taking pictures, of the beautiful surroundings. Surely anything that reflects positively on the town is worth the effort. Lets hope that the fundraising can meet the bill, and that the council savings dont result in an unwelcome pruning of the budget. Volunteer hours just couldn’t match that loss. This is a much needed proposition.

On the subject of budget cuts, members of the public have come forward to give their ideas and feelings about how the council could save money, at the recent consultation meetings, with the local authority preparing to find ways to chop £30 million off their spending.

A number of people have given a variety of proposals for cost cutting, with some indicating that the council could save money internally either through reducing staff at the top level, or reducing the use of consultants or just using resources better, such as using available transport more wisely.

The council are encouraging people to give their views, but a lot of people are extremely sceptical about whether their ideas will be given any consideration, and that the areas marked out for savings have already been identified.

It would be foolish for the council to ignore what the public are saying. After all, the budget cuts affect them directly, and if they have some right to say how their money is spent. Perhaps this is too simplistic a view, in what is a complicated process, with a number of areas needing large amounts of funding. The truth is that the amount of funding is not around like it used to be, and cuts will have to be made, but the council and councillors could restore a little faith by listening to people at their level, before making any final decisions.