Issue 437 – Hill helpers sought to look after landmark

PLANS are afoot to create a volunteer group to help look after White Horse Hill.
Wiltshire Council, Westbury Police, English Heritage and Westbury Town Council held an information day on the hill on Saturday 30th May.
Wiltshire Council’s Leo Wirtz said, “We’d like to get a community of people who are interested in looking after the site and fostering a community of users.”

Leo said that they were looking for volunteers for a diverse range of projects including on-going biological survey work, litter picking and reporting anti-social behaviour or vandalism.
He said, “It really helps us if people get in touch when things go wrong because then we can get it fixed quickly.”
Mayor of Westbury cllr Sue Ezra said she welcomed the idea of more public involvement with the monument. She said, “I think it’s a good idea because at least that way it will keep it tidy because people do drop litter.
Cllr Ezra said that such a group would also empower the public with a greater sense of ownership of the monument and create a united voice for users of the hill, whose wants and needs could be taken into consideration by the town council.
English Heritage estates office manager, Carole Owen, said she hoped to find a pro-active group of local volunteers who could act as their eyes and ears on the site.
She said, “We are quite happy to meet with them and have them come to our quarterly meetings to discuss anything that is bothering them, or any ways we can improve what we are doing at the site. It’s just to make sure that they have got a monument to be proud of.”
Anyone interested should contact Carole on 01179 750714.