ENGLISH HERITAGE has confirmed that they have no plans to clean the iconic Westbury White Horse until the summer. Despite complaints on social media by locals, Westbury residents have been told they will have to put up with the ‘grey mare’ for a few more months while English Heritage confirm cleaning dates.
A spokesperson for English Heritage said, “The Westbury White Horse is a much-loved local landmark, and our work continues to find a solution for keeping it clean and looking white. Our team of experts will soon be visiting the site to assess how our trials are going, and we hope to be able to clean the horse this summer.”
English Heritage previously said that their team had been busy testing sustainable solutions to ‘keep the White Horse looking whiter for longer, including paint trials’.
A White Horse News reporter spoke to some local residents who had taken a walk up the hill to see the White Horse.
One resident said, “It’s a shame really, it’s such an iconic landmark in our local area we should really do our best to keep it clean. It definitely gives the town a bad reputation as you can see how dirty it is almost right across town.”
Another said, “It’s part of our local history, the least we can do is keep it clean and tidy.”
While English Heritage is the lead stakeholder in the cleaning regime, last year the Rotary Club of Westbury assisted with the general cleaning of the area by filling over 12 large bags of rubbish from the car park for Bratton Camp/White Horse as part of a community clean.
When asked whether the Rotary Club will have some involvement, the group said, “On 30th March we have someone from English Heritage coming to talk with club members about the White Horse, so we will know more about what is possible in terms of getting involved, as we would like to in some capacity.”
