Two roundabouts at the entrance to a Swindon business park have burst into bloom as part of a groundbreaking national project to create floral meadows at busy road junctions.
The Elgin Drive and Kembrey Park roundabouts are now a riot of meadow flowers and hardy perennials following two years of careful planning, preparation, planting and tending.
The pastoral scene in the middle of one of the town’s busiest roads is the result of a £15,000 donation from Enterprise Rent-A-Car and its philanthropic arm, the Enterprise Holdings Foundation.
Enterprise worked with Professor Nigel Dunnett – best known for creating the meadows at the London 2012 Olympic Park – to bring the roundabouts near Kembrey Business Park to life.
Eight roundabouts in seven towns across the UK have been included in the £130,000 programme to celebrate Enterprise Rent-A-Car’s 20 years in the UK.
Swindon – known for its almost countless roundabouts – fittingly is the only town to boast two in the programme. Glasgow, Sheffield, Leeds, Birmingham, Liverpool and Woking have had to make do with one each.
The roundabouts, with their mix of plants that foster biodiversity and wildlife and help the local bee and butterfly communities thrive, are as pioneering in their way as Swindon’s iconic Magic Roundabout was when it first opened to a bemused public in 1972.
Lead member for Swindon Borough Council’s Street Smart Team, Coun Keith Williams, visited the twin roundabouts to mark their transformation into perennial floral meadows with the council’s service manager Rob Core and Enterprise Rent-A-Car South of England group rental manager Stewart Cahill.
Rob Core said: “Roundabouts are a very important part of Swindon’s environment, so we were immediately interested when Enterprise Rent-A-Car approached us with this project.
“The fact that the design is backed up by years of research that proves the ecological and sustainability benefits of these floral meadows was especially important, as they deliver beautiful floral displays which also reduce maintenance costs.”
Mr Cahill added: “We would like to thank Swindon Council for working with us to create these floral meadows. The transformation of these roundabouts has taken two years because we wanted to make a longer-term impact for the community beyond our birthday year.
“The communities where we operate are really important to us, which is why we chose this regional project to celebrate our 20 years in the UK.
“We have six rental branch locations in and around Swindon which are part of a much larger network of over 420 rental branches and car clubs in neighbourhoods all over the UK. We hope all our customers, employees and friends enjoy these flowers for many years to come.”
Each roundabout was designed by Prof Dunnett of the University of Sheffield’s Landscape Department and one of the world’s leading experts in planting design and technology.
They were then planted by Pictorial Meadows, a pioneer in the commercial development of hardy seed mixes and turfs for the naturalistic planting styles developed by the University of Sheffield’s research.
In addition to providing long-lasting displays of colour over several months, the designs and seed mixes used on the roundabouts have been developed to flower year on year with the minimum of care.
The flowering technologies reduce maintenance costs for local authorities and the associated traffic disruption.
Prof Dunnett said: “This project was very exciting because it offered a chance to demonstrate the impact that these perennial designs can have on communities for the long-term.
“Over the years we have worked with many local authorities on wildflower projects that have created visually stunning displays quickly, but only for a year or two.
“The planting on these roundabouts will have longevity. They will flower year after year with quite minimal attention, because Enterprise and the local authorities involved were willing to engage in this project for the long-term.”
Pictured, from left: Stewart Cahill, Enterprise Rent-A-Car; Coun Keith Williams, lead member of Swindon Council’s Street Smart Team, and Rob Core Swindon Borough Council service manager
