PETERSFIELD town councillors gave a new £8,950 flowerbeds plan the go-ahead last week and vowed not to look back to the "arguments of the past or the planting of 2005". Contaminated soil and a large amount of chickweed were blamed for last year's poor flower displays on town council land. But now contractor Philip Voice Ltd has a new scheme to provide all-year-round planting. During a meeting of the town council's grounds committee last week, it emerged that mayor Vaughan Clarke had met members of Petersfield In Bloom, which used to manage the flowerbeds before Philip Voice Ltd was employed to do the job. In a report, Mr Clarke said he favoured a horticultural specialist over grounds maintenance companies. The report said: "The object of the meeting was to look forward to the planting for 2006 and not look back to the arguments of the past or the planting of 2005. "My personal view, after reviewing the facts, is that we need to ensure that the flower beds in Petersfield are planted with vision and with eye-catching displays. "I think it would be far better if the contract for the work went to a horticultural company, simply because if one is trained in a specialism one is far more likely to have a real feel for the work than if trained for general grounds maintenance." Philip Voice employs Royal Horticultural Society-trained staff, is a member of Horticultural Trades Association and won an APL (Association of Professional Landscapers) award in 2000. One of its gardeners, Christian Dupont, was a Hagen award-winning student of Sparsholt College, where he specialised in the horticulture of aquatics. For his new contract with Petersfield Town Council, materials - including top soil, feed and compost - would cost £3,350m while labour would cost £4,700. Councillors decided despite the early high cost, the scheme would be cheaper in the long run. The following year's costs, they were told, would only be £5,300.