Penarth shop owners frustration on planters being stolen

A number of the businesses bought the planters from Penarth Town Council and buy their own flowers to put into these planters in an effort to make the town look nice. But they have found that they keep going missing.

Angelina Hall, who runs Glass By Design, represents a number of the shop owners in the town and brought the issue up at a recent Penarth Town Council meeting.

One of the planters full of flowers

Ms Hall said: “The planters were an initial idea from Penarth Town Council for Penarth in Bloom and they are great because they can be planted for the summer and also for Christmas with Christmas trees in them.

“It is really lovely for the town.”

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Ms Hall said that there has been an issue over the past years of the plants being pulled up, but often found discarded nearby, however recently they have seen the plants being taken up and also the planters themselves – with no sign of them.

“In the past couple of years there have been drunk people vandalising them but in the last year people seem to have been stealing either the whole planter or just the plants in them.

“It is so sad that we are all trying our best in these difficult times to make something nice. It is all to try and make the town look more attractive. These are not isolated incidents. Some of the shops have had theirs targeted multiple times, with different plants being taken each time.”

Ms Hall said that some of the businesses have made the decision to stop having the planters outside their properties and highlighted the strain it is putting on them.

“We have to make the decision if we are going to replace the plants or not. It seems very unfair that businesses, when we need locals to be supportive, as we really do not need the small number of people making our lives more difficult.”

The same planter after flowers have been stolen

Penarth Town Mayor, Cllr Ian Buckley, said: “I am very saddened at the instances of vandalism of planters and floral displays that continue in our town.

“We continue to see theft and damage of floral displays and decorations. This causes hurt and cost to small independent businesses who have been hit hard by the pandemic for over a year and a half.

“Many of us put in real effort to make Penarth a nicer environment for everyone, and the whole community are affected in this way.

“I urge people to consider their fellow Penarthians and to remain vigilant of these offences taking place.”