JUST when the people of Swindon thought they had seen the last of overgrown grass at the roadside, a leading car hire firm has paid £15,000 to bring it back.

In a gesture of environmental friendliness, Enterprise Rent-A-Car and their philanthropic arm, the Enterprise Holdings Foundation, has spent £130,000 across the UK on a project to turn roundabouts into ‘floral meadows’.

Swindon was selected as the lucky recipient of two such showpieces at a cost of £15,000 and earlier this week the roundabout meadows, at Elgin Drive and Kembrey Park, were officially unveiled.

A spokesman for Enterprise said: “The roundabouts have now burst into bloom with a profusion of meadow flowers, bulbs and hardy perennials following two years of careful planning, preparation, planting and tending.”

The novel creations were the work of leading experts in ‘meadow technology’ who worked with Enterprise to bring the project to life.

Renowned Professor Nigel Dunnett, who worked on the Olympic Park in 2012, was involved in creating the designs for each location.

Councillor Keith Williams, Swindon Borough Council’s lead member for Street Smart, attended the unveiling alongside Stewart Cahill from Enterprise and council environmental services manager Rob Core.

Mr 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.

“We are delighted to have been selected to be part of Enterprise Rent-A-Car’s 20th birthday celebrations and look forward to seeing these meadows blossom for many years.”

Stewart Cahill, group rental manager for Enterprise Rent-A-Car South of England, said: “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.”

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 mix of plants at each site also fosters biodiversity and wildlife. They are especially appealing to local bee and butterfly communities, which thrive when the carefully selected plants are in bloom.

Professor 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.”