A LITTER pick is taking place this month around the White Horse following complaints online about the amount of litter and the ‘state’ of the car park.
30 members of the Westbury Spotted page vented their frustration at the “horrible” car park which the original poster says is “covered in pot holes and rubbish everywhere”.
“I walked up today and couldn’t believe the state of the car park,” the resident said. A respondent replied, “Same state as most of the town is sadly. Not many people have any respect for others, nature or wildlife. Apparently no plans for cleaning up or providing more bins.”
“It’s horrible up there and it’s such a shame,” said another poster. “Loads of rubbish, dog poo etc. Such a shame. Makes you wonder what the tourists think (not that they can go there anymore!). English Heritage need to up their game.
“A beautiful spot ruined by lazy, thoughtless people sadly.”
But the post was seen by Westbury Rotary member Jonathan Street who informed readers that a litter pick was planned for Saturday April 10th and encouraged anyone interested to join.
Jon told White Horse News, “In March 2019, six members of the Westbury Rotary Club braved the elements to clean up the White Horse/Bratton Camp car park and surrounding area. We collected 15 bags of rubbish, mainly consisting of food containers and empty bottles of wine left by visitors to the car park.
“It’s important to keep such a public area clean and safe for visitors as it is such a high-profile area, a dirty unsafe venue doesn’t promote Westbury well.
“We are going to repeat the process this year on April 10th at 10am. We’re concentrating on the car park and the lanes thereabouts. The road leading to the car park, Long River Road, is often strewn with rubbish but we’re unable to safely work on that area due to the traffic density and the width of the road.”
Last year’s litter pick could not proceed due to the pandemic, Jon added, but the group is “adamant” that nothing will get in their way this year. Current CoVId-19 regulations will be strictly adhered to.
They are open to assistance on the day, social distancing maintained, and will also be able to give information about Rotary International, the group’s work within the local community, around the world and the local club.
New members are always welcome and there’s a Facebook page and a Rotary website which gives lots of information to interested parties: Rotary Club of Westbury home page (rotary-ribi.org)
The litter pick is with the assistance of Westbury Town Council who are providing the bags and grippers to pick the litter. All the full bags will be disposed of by the council.