A GREEN project which will keep Liphook looking blooming wonderful through the spring and summer has been completed.

The future looks very rosy for Liphook In Bloom now work has finished on their Rainwater Harvesting Project.

Rainwater will be channelled through the Millennium Centre’s gutters into a large tank with a 10,000 litre capacity at the side of the venue.

Liphook In Bloom members will use the collected water from the tank, which was stored for several years at Simon Coyte’s premises, on the village’s flowerbeds, planters and hanging baskets.

"We’ve been searching for a couple of years for somewhere to put the tank permanently but putting it here was a much better solution for us," said Roger Miller of Liphook In Bloom at the unveiling.

"It’s in an ideal position to take rainwater and over the next two or three weeks hopefully we’ll be putting in another pipe. We hope that water from throughout the year will fill it up.

"We had to do a lot more watering last year because of the long hot summer so this will make a big difference.

"It’s already about 40 per cent full so it’s working."

More than a dozen representatives from Bramshott and Liphook Parish Council, East Hampshire District Council and Hampshire County Council, who all provided funding, gathered at the centre on January 30, to celebrate the system’s official unveiling.

The tank sits on a platform of railway sleepers, which was constructed by Liphook In Bloom volunteers in November, topped with marine ply to provide a flat surface for the tank.

The group reckons it will use three tankfuls of water over the year to keep its displays looking their best, with planning well under way for this year’s effort according to In Bloom member, Barbara Miller.

She said: "We do use an awful lot of water and it’s all done by volunteers, who do a cracking job with the flower beds, planters and hanging baskets.

"We’ve already started thinking about this year’s display and we planted our crocuses back in November.

"It’s very much a year-round thing. Even though there’s not a lot out at the moment there’s a lot of planning and preparation to do."

Extra hands are always welcome - if you would be interested in volunteering visit www.liphookinbloom.co.uk for more details.