Sunday, May 24, 2020

SOW-SO WHEN IT COMES TO BRIGG PUBLIC PATH, OPEN SPACE & VERGE TIDYING


Some Brigg public footpaths, verges and public open spaces are currently neat and tidy while others show little or no evidence of recent trimming.
In the former category is the public footpath pictured above between St Helens Road and Churchill Avenue - narrow but kept cleared of foliage that might impede walkers.
Adjoining the police station - close to the A18 and Cary Lane - are areas of uncut grass now dotted with wild flowers and/or weeds, depending how people view various types of plants.
Dandelions and daisies are also evident on various grassy areas elsewhere that are normally cut regularly, including the Recreation Ground when we last visited.
Clearly, Humberside Police, local councils and others have much more pressing priorities at the moment than tending green areas.
However, as Brigg Blog made several pre-emergency calls for SOME grassy areas in the town to be sown with wild flowers and left uncut to help insects and birds, we are quite pleased to see that mowers and strimmers have mostly remained locked in their sheds.
The steep grassy bank on the Bigby Road boundary of the Davy Memorial Playing Field used to be a butterfly haven decades ago as Brigg Urban District Council left it to nature, as it did various other public open spaces during a reign which ended in 1974.
Was this a 'green' policy well ahead of its time or a way to save money on grass cutting?
Who's responsible for trimming and tidying what in Brigg today is far from clear cut.
Two councils, social landlord Ongo, the police and a number of property and landowners are on the list.
We hope that our suggestion for some wild flower areas may be considered in the future, once things have returned to normal.