RESIDENTS and councillors have won a battle with Wiltshire Council, who tried to plant wildflowers in the middle of Penleigh Park – an area frequently used for community events.
Last year, the idea of planting wildflowers on grass verges and on green spaces was wholly supported by Westbury Town Council, who gave suggestions to Wiltshire Council about possible planting areas in the town. However, Wiltshire Council put forward plans to cover a large space in Penleigh Park with wildflowers.
This alerted community group POPCAN, Westbury Youth FC and the fun fair as to the future of their community events which are held on the playing fields.
Members of POPCAN, a community group of residents in the area said, “This is all well and good, but the area is totally unacceptable, it is encroaching on the recreation area which will stop sports and events on the field. We would suggest another area of the park be considered.”
Due to the residents and councillors questioning the decision and placement of the wildflowers, Wiltshire Council has now agreed to look at alternative areas.
As a result, planning can now resume for POPCAN, who organise an annual fun day on the playing fields, Westbury Youth Football Club who use the area for parking during their annual tournament and the children’s fun fair.
Cllr Bridget Wayman, Wiltshire Council cabinet member for highways said, “I recognise that the Penleigh amenity area is used by a number of users including the fun fair. As the non-sports area at Penleigh was identified as a wildflower area, the council asked organisers to consider their environmental impact and during the wildflower season use matting etc. to limit their event’s damage.
“The offer to use Penleigh for events was never withdrawn, event organisers were merely asked to consider their operations to ensure the environmental benefits of a wildflower area were not lost.
“We are running a number of trials to move away from the over-management of some amenity areas to help reduce carbon, by limiting cutting and allowing more wildflowers, to encourage the natural flora and fauna.
“The wildflower trial at Penleigh has now been moved to another amenity area in Westbury in a partnership arrangement with Westbury Youth Football Club.
“In the future, we must make better environmental use of all our green open spaces. This will not prevent other uses, but during the wildflower season, event organisers will need to consider reducing their environmental impact.
“Any new arrangements at Penleigh to the non-sports areas are likely to be two years away, following the outcome of the trials. However we are asking all event users of our land to consider how they can reduce their environmental impact and how best to plan their events as we move to more wildflower provision in the future.”
Wiltshire Council is also in discussions with Westbury Town Council about other areas for wildflower planting including Bratton Camp, The Mead, Chestnut (a play park in Fell Road) and along the A350 from Yarnbrook to Westbury.
