Residents slam Walsall Council for erecting 'Super Mario Brothers' plant pots
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May 21
I mean, we think that they look pretty cool!
Ever heard Mario shout "Let's-a go to Walsall" on his travels? neither have we, but residents wouldn't be too surprised if the popular video game character popped up in the West Midlands-based town.
Walsall Council has been in the limelight recently after it decided to spruce up the high street with large planters, which were said to have been added to 'promote a feeling of wellbeing and safety'. But the large green plant pots used to erect floral displays within the town centre have been met with criticism, and a few laughs, after a number of residents spotted a resemblance between the planters and the green pipes that appear in games from Nintendo's hit Mario franchise.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet tw-align-center"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">So it's happened‼️<br><br>Mario has in fact now made his way to Walsall 😜<br><br>Mamma-mia.....<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mario?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Mario</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Walsall?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Walsall</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Art?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Art</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Council?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Council</a> <a href="https://t.co/zauTfL0edc">pic.twitter.com/zauTfL0edc</a></p>— Stephen Moreton (@StephenMoreton3) <a href="https://twitter.com/StephenMoreton3/status/1394538537614184448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 18, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Aside from the Mario comparison, residents have also hit out at the council for 'splashing money' on the plant pots instead of focusing on other requests and matters that are important to business and shoppers.
Speaking to BirminghamLive, Councillor Adrian Andrew, Deputy Leader of Walsall Council and Portfolio holder for Regeneration said: "Residents may be aware of the addition of some colourful planters in the town centre. This is part of a project funded by national government’s Accelerated Towns Funding.
"Walsall Council has been awarded £750k each for Bloxwich and Walsall Town centres to make early interventions, building momentum towards the main Towns Fund bid. The work in Walsall Town Centre is intended to deliver a range of improvements to promote a feeling of wellbeing and safety and enhance the town centre environment and a key element of this work was to introduce more planting into the town centre to create a more social space outside the Walsall Art Gallery."
