Fears that scythe-wielding volunteers will be “reenacting Poldark on the edge of the Clifton Suspension Bridge” have delayed plans for three small wildflower beds on the Downs.
The idea has been branded “completely stupid” after concerns were raised it could lead to a huge insurance payout if someone was injured.
It all came from a simple suggestion to spend a few hundred quid planting insect-friendly flowers in three areas on Clifton Down, with the aim of getting the community involved by training a small group of volunteers to use a scythe and unleash their “inner Poldark”.
But it prompted a lengthy debate at a meeting of the Downs committee where members voiced their fears about safety, forcing Bristol City Council officers to reassure them there was no danger to life and limb.
Green Cllr Paula O’Rourke said residents had requested more wildflowers on Christchurch Green and to reduce the amount of grass mowing.
She said: “Seeds would be purchased and sown and it would be harvested annually.
“The way it would be cut would be getting local people involved to bring the community to do some scything, and training could be provided by the council.
“We could get signs and have a cutting day.
“Perhaps some fine young men in Clifton who have their inner Poldark could come out in July each year.”
But Jonathon Baker, of the Society of Merchant Venturers, whose members sit on the committee alongside councillors, said: “A scythe is a particularly dangerous bit of kit, not only in the hands of an individual who is possibly unskilled.
“To have five good men and true reenacting Poldark on the edge of Clifton Suspension Bridge strikes me as completely stupid and an extremely large liability.”
However, he said he was very much in favour of the idea generally.
“When we were approached at the last meeting for a play area, we expected a properly costed-out idea,” Mr Baker said.
“This strikes me as a brilliant idea but being done on the back of an envelope.
“We have no money, so why don’t we give it a bit more time and we can go out and seek some funding for the seeds which can also include a little bit to mow at the end because I really think scythes on the Downs are a bad idea.”
City council nature conservation officer Becky Belfin told the remote meeting on Monday, November 16: “In terms of volunteers using sites, we provide training.
“It wouldn’t be just anyone let loose with a scythe on the Downs, it would be a supervised activity, and we’ve run scything sessions with a number of our conservation sites over the last few years very successfully.
“We carry out risk assessments, we provide training and it’s entirely safe.
“We’re not trying to reenact Poldark.
“It is for the purpose of managing the site.”
She said that volunteers were covered by public liability and also the council’s personal injury insurance if they were supervised by someone qualified from the local authority.
Cllr O’Rourke said: “I’m going to have to apologise for my flippancy with my Poldark remark.
“We are offering an opportunity to bring in something that’s going to enhance the area, it’s going to be insect and bird friendly.
“It’s a good thing to do for the community.”
She said a £500 Gardeners’ Society donation had been promised which could be spent on an information board or for the seed and hiring of the turf cutter, and Merchant Venturer David Powell said he was happy to underwrite the £200 cost of the seeds if it meant the scheme could go ahead.
But members were concerned the ongoing maintenance costs had not been fully assessed.
Cllr O’Rourke said: “I apologise and I see now there are a lot of vagaries that should have been bottomed out but I thought it was a much more simple thing.”
Mr Baker said: “Would it not be better for us to have the proposal properly costed, presented to us at our next meeting in January and then we will probably all vote for it because no one is against it, we’re just against the fact we’re not doing it professionally.”
The committee agreed to defer the decision.
If it is approved, the native wildflower species would be planted in the spring at three crescent-shaped areas – off Observatory Road, near the William Draper Monument and opposite The Mall.
