Peterborough City Council has approved plans to install mini-gardens on top of 34 bus shelters, a project aimed at boosting biodiversity in urban areas. These "bee bus stops," featuring "Living Roofs" planted with wildflowers and other vegetation, are part of a new bus stop management plan.
The decision was made during a meeting of the council's cabinet on Tuesday. Under a new contract awarded to Bauer Media Outdoor UK, the company will manage the city's bus stops. This agreement is expected to generate an annual income of £140,000 for the council from advertising space sales, in addition to 2.5% of the company's quarterly gross revenue. The contract is anticipated to last at least 10 years, with potential for extensions, and could provide the authority with approximately £2.8 million over two decades.
Similar initiatives, known as Living Roofs, are already in place at over 350 locations across the United Kingdom, including in Birmingham, Glasgow, and Northampton. Chris Wiggin, the council's Liberal Democrat cabinet member for the environment, emphasized the importance of supporting pollinators. "We need to do everything we can to support biodiversity and support bees and other pollinators because without those there is no other life," Wiggin stated, expressing support for the approved plans.
In addition to the Living Roofs, the updated bus stop plan includes provisions for comfortable seating to replace existing perch seats, updated passenger information displays, and the installation of digital advertising screens at most stops.