The Future of Liphook in Bloom
What is changing?
The public face of Liphook in Bloom is the annual display of plants, bulbs, hanging baskets and of course, the gaggle of helpers in hi-vis jackets tending these during the year. However, behind the scene is a small team of people who plan and organise everything that is required to make this happen and many of those people have been diligently giving their time and expertise for nearly 20 years.
The time has inevitably come where a number of the organising team, many in their 70s and 80s, want to stand down from these roles and it has been decided that our 20th anniversary in 2017 will be the swan-song for the bulk of the current team.
What will happen after that?
Well, that is down to the people of Liphook to decide and we want to start planning now for a succession to the key roles that will be standing down so that the village can continue to enjoy beautiful displays for many years to come.
Who will take over these roles?
That, as they say, is the $64,000 question and we are appealing to everyone in and around Liphook to consider if they could become a part of Liphook in Bloom’s future.
How can I find out what these roles are?
The current team is currently pulling together a description of the roles that need to be filled. At the moment we already know that there is a requirement for people to design the flower beds, purchase the plants, organising planting and weeding as well as some administrative roles. A brainstorming meeting is being held at the Millennium Hall on November 10th at 19:30 to present our current thoughts on the future and spell out what people are required to keep the group going and anyone who has an interest is welcome to join us. For those unable to attend, details of the roles will be published on this website.
What will happen if no new team members are found?
We are looking at various scenarios to see what can be done, even with local commercial intervention, to ensure we still have beautiful displays to brighten up the village post 2017. However, our worst case scenario would be to use the remaining funds available to us to plant up the beds with sustainable shrubs and to ask the council to ensure these are kept tidy.