Case 7 - Local council refused to allow hanging baskets to be placed on lamppost until assessed by engineers

Issue

A local council was refusing to allow hanging baskets to be placed on lamppost for a Village in Bloom initiative until engineers had assessed the lampposts to show they were capable of holding the bracket and basket.

Panel decision

This is a classic case of valid health and safety principles being applied in an overly-cautious and inappropriate way. The precautions that the Council are expecting from the Village in Bloom organisers are disproportionate to the health and safety risk involved. For conventional hanging baskets of a modest size a simple visual check is all that would be necessary to confirm suitability of the fixing.