WESTBURY town councillors will be asking English Heritage for more details over when the White Horse will next be cleaned. In a recent statement to the White Horse News, English Heritage mentioned that experts would be visiting the site soon to assess how paint trials have been going and they hope to be able to clean the White Horse this summer.
Town and Wiltshire cllr Matt Dean, who represents Westbury West, said at a recent meeting of the town council’s highways, planning and development committee that he will meet with English Heritage soon to discuss the cleaning schedule for the White Horse.
Cllr Dean said, “The current arrangements are that the cleaning of the White Horse is the responsibility of English Heritage. I am in currently in contact with the trustees of English Heritage. It is quite unsatisfactory, honestly, as English Heritage used to be the responsibility of the Secretary of State, but now they are a charity, they are not accountable to anyone but their trustees, so we can’t actually make them do anything.
“Nonetheless, I will mention this at a meeting with English Heritage and I will try to press upon them that we want some definitive action here. They’re quite clear that they don’t want this town council or any other volunteers doing any work to the horse. They look at it as a matter entirely for themselves and in terms of engagement, I find that slightly disappointing as well.”
The White Horse will be the centre of attention this summer, with events such as the beacon lighting for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, and the Soapbox Derby taking place on the chalk escarpment this year.
Cllr Gordon King added, “English Heritage has said they have a budget for this and that they are going through a trial of different paints to understand which is the most resilient. Actually anyone who now touches the White Horse changes the chemistry.
“If you change the chemistry, you then have to conduct another study and the cleaning becomes next year instead of this year. It is better for people to leave the White Horse alone and allow the study to be completed and for English Heritage to undertake the work. The reason it is being undertaken in the summer is because of the acid content of the rain in the winter, which is having a detrimental effect on the face of the horse.”
