The hanging baskets tied up with red tape (More than 300 pages of it)

But this is not some complicated planning application, just a council's efforts to keep a few hanging baskets in bloom.

Around 50 baskets were put up in Fakenham, Norfolk, three years ago to brighten up the town.

Special consent was needed for 21 of them because their metal fixings had to be attached to listed buildings. This year the listed building consent expired and the town council has been forced to reapply to North Norfolk District Council for all 21 to be renewed.

The applications have created a bureaucratic nightmare for Janet Holdom, founder of Fakenham in Bloom, and her three volunteers at Fakenham Town Council.

They have had to approach every owner of the buildings affected - mainly shop owners - to let them know they were reapplying for consent on their behalf.

Each hanging basket requires four forms to be filled in, which have to be copied in quadruplicate, plus detailed drawings of the metal fixings and photos of them in situ.

The cost of advertising the planning applications in the local press has totalled £350 alone.

"This is a waste of time and taxpayers" money,' Mrs Holdom said. "Of course I would rather not have to do it, but I have no choice but to comply with the requirements.

"The application itself is free, but each one has to include four pages of forms which have to be copied in quadruplicate."

She hopes planners at the district council will grant these new applications for permission indefinitely.

"I understand there are regulations but to have to do it every three years is a waste of volunteers' time and taxpayers' money," she said.

"The hanging baskets do improve

the image of the town. We have so many attractive buildings and it helps to make the best of them."

Chris Thomas, who owns the Fakenham Heel Bar, in Oak Street, which has two hanging baskets outside, said: "Money has been spent on advertising, administration and the time it took for someone to come round to every building to take a photograph of it. It is an utter waste - absolute madness."

A North Norfolk District Council spokesman said consent for the hanging baskets was granted to the listed buildings on a temporary basis in 2004 to protect the character of the town.

He added: "This enabled the authority to make an assessment, but with the new applications the officer has indicated he would be inclined to give permanent consent."