A HOSEPIPE ban introduced at one minute past midnight on Tuesday (August 18) by Wessex Water has had a sad consequence for the floral displays around the town.

Wellington’s abundance of flowers and bedding can no longer be watered after Wessex Water issued the first hosepipe ban in 50 years.

A spokesperson for Wellington Town Council said: “In light of the hosepipe ban that came into effect at midnight, our Open Spaces Team are making a number of changes to ensure we are compliant with the ban and helping to conserve water.”

The changes include the fountain in Wellington Park remaining turned off to prevent excess water evaporation; the watering of the flowerbeds in Wellington Park and around the town has ceased including the watering of all the town’s hanging baskets and planters in the town centre.

The spokesperson continued: “The above measures will remain in place until the ban is lifted.

Blue skies as the baskets full of petunias in purple, red and white take pride of place.
The town’s hanging baskets will remain in place while the Open Spaces team considers next steps. (PHOTO: Wellington Town Council)

“We will be very sad to see our lovely floral displays go as our team has worked very hard to keep them maintained, but it is our responsibility to follow the rules and advice set out by Wessex Water.”

The town council’s Open Spaces Manager will be considering the best course of action for the plants throughout the town as they wilt and die off.

Confirmation is expected later this week on whether the bedding will be dug out early or left to naturally die back in their current positions.

The announcement from Wessex Water was one of the last across the region to have implemented hosepipe bans while the Environment Agency declared Somerset a drought area.

The Wessex Water statement said: “We've seen record levels of demand for water and with more hot weather to come and no significant rain forecast, we've made the difficult decision to introduce a hosepipe ban.”