Forum topic: Beautiful Palmers Green?

I walked past the 6 large red planters this morning which looked to be absolutely structurally fine, albeit the plants were still looking very wintery (or dead, I wasn’t testing) but unfortunately most were filled with countless cigarette ends. One, directly outside a pub, seemingly having been the recipient of several ashtrays full of ends.


We looked at small tree costs for the children’s playground as part of the Palmers Greenery café’s surplus income distribution. A small, thin tree would have been something like £3000 to procure commercially and plant in the park (excluding early care costs). Add in street related costs of pavement upheaval and chances are we wouldn’t see even two high street trees for the £7000 cost of the planters, never mind the hope of it being enough to buy plants and trees to “surround the whole of Palmers Green”. Landscaping is clearly expensive.


Maybe there is more in the European model Joe seeks, essentially that is paying more in taxes for the benefit of the public good. The UK’s current model is towards minimal government and lowest taxes, much more towards the US model. Problem is we have wanted US tax levels but European public good levels, a hard circle to square.

Thank you, Karl, for bringing some facts and intelligence to the debate.

People love to whinge and moan and demand money is spent - but are clueless as to cost. The impossible dream of every street being turned into a tree lined boulevard would be unfeasible even with European levels of taxation. Though I'm guessing, like most, Joe wouldn't happly have his council tax doubled or tripled to help contribute to the costs of his demands.

PG centre looks the best it has in a decade right now. Funnily enough, plants don't flourish in 'beast from the east' winters, but come summer I'm looking forward to those planters looking glorious in comparison to the concrete tundra of a couple of years ago.