Kirklees Council has handed a plant supply contract to a council that doesn’t have a nursery.

And it has emerged that the deal to grow bedding plants for Kirklees was done behind councillors’ backs.

The Examiner has learned that the huge contract – that allows Kirklees’ own nursery to be closed – was won by Darlington Council last year.

But the deal was signed before senior councillors sanctioned the closure of Bradley Nurseries at a cabinet meeting last Tuesday. Figures on a contract website said the deal was worth £330,000 but Kirklees Council insist that was the limit of the tender and the actual cost is £31,420.

Read more: Bradley nursery to close - ending council's 150-year plant growing tradition

Since then the Examiner has discovered that Darlington Council has shut its own nursery and put it up for sale for housing.

The Examiner understands councillors were unaware of the bizarre situation.

Bradley nurseries supplied festive poinsettia for Huddersfield Town Hall for many years.

A spokesperson for Darlington Council confirmed they were having to hire greenhouse space to grow plants.

It is not yet clear if Darlington Council has effectively outsourced the deal it outsourced from Kirklees.

A second £11,000 contract for Kirklees’ hanging baskets has been awarded to First Impressions Nursery in Wakefield.

Read more: Former Kirklees Council gardener Peter Fawcett condemns closure of Bradley nursery

The cabinet member responsible for parks and gardens, Clr Steve Hall, admitted it did seem a “bit bizarre” to outsource the nursery’s work to a smaller council.

He said he was “concerned” the information had come to light after the cabinet meeting and told the Examiner he had no knowledge of the contracts.

Some 60,000 winter bedding plants were transplanted in just two-and-a-half days by four gardeners at the Bradley Nursery in Huddersfield.

He also said he could not explain how Darlington Council could make money from growing plants when Kirklees could not.

Clr Hall said he had wanted to receive a full explanation from council officials before he commented any further.

A spokesperson for Kirklees Council said the six-figure deal with Darlington was a trial one year contract and Bradley Nurseries would have remained open if the council’s cabinet had said so.

But the report for cabinet made no mention of that situation.

The spokesperson said: “We have a temporary arrangement with Darlington for the supply of seasonal plants for this year and have only this week been discussing and organising the delivery of these with them.

Bradley Nursery, Leeds Road, Bradley, Huddersfield.

“Darlington supply over 23 councils with plants and, although recently closing their own nursery, operate a well-established hired nursery which produces over one million plants a year on a six acre site.

“This arrangement was put in place to allow Cabinet the time to make a fully informed decision on the future supply of plants.

“Following the decision made this week we will now put in place a new and longer term contract for the future supply.”

Meanwhile, councillors have raised concerns about the “due process” and legality of the closure of Bradley Nurseries.

At Kirklees Council’s Cabinet meeting last Tuesday it appeared that no decision had been made.

Bradley nurseries grew the flowers which went on display at the French farmyard in St George's Square, Huddersfield, during the Tour de France's Grand Depart 2014

Clr Viv Kendrick told the meeting: “There isn’t a tendering process entered into yet. Until the decision is made today that won’t happen.”

It has also been revealed that a team of four new ‘Volunteer Co-ordinators’ is being recruited to offset the lost gardening staff.

Each will be earning between £25,540 to £27,924 and will help manage members of the public who want to volunteer at the parks and gardens across the borough.

Kirkburton Tory Clr John Taylor said he was “very surprised” to hear contracts had been signed and new staff recruited.

“They gave the impression to Cabinet that no decisions had been made,” he said.

“What really worries me is the due process. They are bringing a report to Cabinet which supposedly was to approve it when they’ve already outsourced it.

“Who’s making the decisions? It’s clearly not the Cabinet.”

Bradley nurseries grew the flowers which went on display at the French farmyard in St George's Square, Huddersfield, during the Tour de France's Grand Depart 2014

A second opposition councillor at the meeting, Cleckheaton Lib Dem, Clr Andrew Pinnock, complained at the lack of detail on the costs involved.

But at the meeting, portfolio holder for parks Clr Steve Hall said: “This is a very thorough report.”

But he later admitted he was unaware of the above information at the time.

After the Examiner revealed the contract details to Clr Pinnock, he said he “could get quite angry” about the matter.

“The report that came before Cabinet did not give enough detail at all,” he complained. “The conclusion was it’s going to cost too much but they’ve not shown us the evidence.”

Bradley nurseries' gardeners helped restore and stock the conservatory in Greenhead Park.

The report to Cabinet does reveal that council officials had “delegated powers” to make the decisions. But it says Cabinet should be consulted to approve it.

The details of the contracts were not published in the report but are available on a third party website.

They show both the £330,000 bedding plants deal to Darlington Council and the £11,000 hanging baskets contract began on December 1 last year.

The council has admitted the contracts had to be awarded last year to give the suppliers time to grow the plants for this spring.