AN initiative to plant wildflowers instead of traditional bedding plants in parts of Sudbury is to be started on a trial basis.

The idea, which was introduced by town councillor Peter Gray earlier this year, initially proved controversial.

Sudbury in Bloom chairman Nick Irwin said if the council allowed areas to grow wild, it would be inundated with complaints from residents who would perceive the wildflowers as “weeds”. He also said the areas would be difficult to maintain.

But this week, the council’s leisure and environment committee came up with a list of areas where the wildflowers could be trialled, and decided on the first two. Suggestions included patches close to the railway station and the Quay Theatre, but the two plots picked for the trail are opposite the Mill Hotel, and on the verges in Springlands Way.

Mr Gray said an organic gardener in the town had volunteered to help plant the areas with species that were easy to maintain.

Deputy town clerk Jacqui Howells, who showed the committee pictures of wildflowers taken at the Olympic village in July, said: “This shows just how beautiful wildflower areas can look if they are created in the right way and I think this would work really well in some of the areas we have identified.”

The mayor, Jack Owen, said he still had doubts about how the public would react to the scheme, adding: “I don’t think wildflowers will be widely accepted by the public so putting them in very public places like the railway station would probably generate a lot of criticism.”

If the full council agrees to the scheme, the first wave of wildflowers could be in full bloom by next spring.