Page 30 - link magazine

30 Letters to The Link
Letters should be sent by 16th of the month to The Link, 13 Castle Dore, Freshbrook, Swindon SN5 8PQ

Dogs It's N.I.M.B.Y.' Time Again! The compost bin arguement - round 3
From K Stevenson, East leaze From Linda Lee, Lower Shaw Farm, Old Shaw Lane. From R Leverton, Parham Walk, Grange Park
Ref. 'Stop picking on dogs' letters, May Link Remember 'Nimby' that popular acronym from I do not wish to labour the point, but I do feel I
I think J Hodges is missing the point of the 1980's - Not In My Back Yard? It was used must respond to the letter from Mr Cretchley
people complaining about dogs. The to refer to the dumping of nuclear and chemical criticising the article in theApril issueofTheLink,
concern, particularly about dogs mess, is waste. Now Nimby is alive and thriving in West regarding the so-called clean-ups of Greendown
not just that it is disgusting to step in, but a Swindon. This time the problem is grass clip- Copse and will attempt to answer his points in
very real health hazard. pings! Every spring and summer piles of clip- order.
The dog roundworm Toxocara canis, is very pings (and other garden refuse such as soil and 1. Support from local residents - I have
common and 'almost all puppies are born with bricks) are dumped in the hedgerows along the never seen hordes of people actually support-
toxocara; they and kittens can catch toxocara side of the footpaths. ing these clean-ups. At the last one I only saw
through their mothers milk.' It can only be Thamesdown Council have spent time, effort about 7 people which included 3 councillors,
controlled through regular worming. Conse- and money preserving and maintaining old one prospective councillor and Mr Cretchley.
quently irresponsible owners who either don't hedgerows in this area. These hedgerows pro- 2. The compost tip and 'No Dumping'
worm their dogs or chuck them out to run wild vide a pleasant reminder of the past as well as signs were erected without any consultation
as strays,are exposing others, especially children, providing vital shelter in a disappearing land- with local residents. My four neighbours in
to the risks of being infected with the worm. scape for small animals, plants and insects. When Parham Walk certainly were not and we live
What happens? Well 'Once swallowed, toxocara people unthinkingly dump grass clippings there, adjacent to and overlooking the copse. Other
eggs release larvae into the intestine .. they they may be ridding their own back yards of local residents I have spoken to in the copse
travel through the body until they die, which unwanted 'waste' but what is it doing to the were also not consulted and are pretty dis-
may take several years.. symptoms ..can include hedgerows? Grass clippings act as a mulch gusted with the situation.
stomach upset and pain, headache, sore throat, which will prevent anything else growing 3 & 4. Whether the copse is cleaner or not is
asthma, listlessness (and if it reaches the eyes).. around the base of the hedge. debatable. I have never seen 'bulky rubbish' (ie
cause sight problems and in a few cases per- Plants and wild flowers will be unable to mattresses etc) it is mostly paper and cans.
manent blindness. - information and quotes grow, insects like butterflies and bees lose a What we have now is a compost tip which has
from the lea flet 'Toxocara' produced by Hoechst feeding ground and the hedgerow will become turned into a civic amenity for people to be
Pet Care. barren and unattractive. encouraged to dump rubbish. The actual tip as
The point is, those responsible for, say a child So gardeners of West Swindon, please do not constructed is about 4'6" by 5'. I measured the
being blinded by dog worms, are not traceable, let your pride in your surroundings end at your total rubbish on 24 May and it was 32' long!
especially in the absence of dog registration, so garden gate. There are two good alternatives Mr Cretchley mentions educating people re- e
cannotbe made to pay for ruining another's life. beside taking your grass to the tip. You could garding usage and councillor Pixton said he
garding
I would make these further comments: place it around the base of roses, runner beans was looking for suggestions from local residents
Although street lights with exposed wires are and other garden plants as valuable mulch to on how to manage the tip. Well, we did not ask
dangerous, I have yet to come across one that enrich the soil and prevent weeds growing. or, for it, we were not consulted and we don't want
would jump out and attack anyone! you could telephone us here at Lower Shaw it as it is presently. If we need educating and
Horse dung can be useful, as any keen gar- Farm, in Old Shaw Lane as we may be able to councillor Pixton does not know what to do,
dener can tell you, it makes excellent compost. use a certain amount to mulch our large organic then why was it put there in the first place?
Motorcycles have registration numbers, so at vegetable garden, mix with chicken manure to 5. Local councillors support - let's face it,
least in theory, those breaking the law on them make a potent fertiliser, or layer on our compost the whole operation seems to be for the purpose
can be traced. heaps with household and garden waste. We of collecting political brownie points. Every so
Children can be supervised and re-educated. cannot accept grass treated with weedkiller. It often councillors turn up, have theirphotographs
Yes, vandalism can be a problem, but a van- is important to telephone us first - we could not taken, and then disappear until the next time
dalised tree is unlikely to make anyone ill, in cope with mountains of clippings suddenly they need publicity. For instance, one political
normal circumstances. arrivingon the doorstep! The number forLower circular that came through my letter box just
People are not 'picking on' dogs, but simply Shaw Farm is 771080. before the local elections recently mentioned
expressing their concern at what could so easily Greendown copse clean-up no less than 5 times!
be a preventable health risk, especially to their Don't misunderstand my motives MrCretch-
children. ley - I don't misunderstand yours. I am for a
cleaner copse and for environmental issues.
1st Purton & Lydiard Scouts Thamesdown Animal Sanctury Thamesdown Borough labour was used to
Open Day Animal Awareness Week erect the signs etc. so why can't Borough labour
be employed to empty the tip every two weeks
Sat. 8 June 12noon - 5pm Sponsored Dog Walk or so? This may stop the smell of rotting veg-
Sun. 9 June 12noon - 4.30pm at Coate Water etation that wafts gently across my garden from
See what Scouts do at a mock 4 miles. Sun. 9 June, 10am the tip. The next thing is we'll have rats infesting
summer camp set up In the grounds of Tel: 783837 for sponsor forms the area.
Purton House, near Purton Church and further details Also why aren't the young trees planted 5
years ago being husbanded? Every year they
are swamped by nettles and cannot grow and
The Link Classifieds everybody gets stung as the nettles overgrow
Lineage ads cost £3.50 per single column centimetre inc. VAT. the paths.
Cash with advert to The Link, 13 Castle Dore, Freshbrook, Swindon If there was genuine consultation and dis-
cussion, if there was evidence of genuine envi-
Experienced Childminder ronmental aspirations, if local councillors put
Sandys Silk Bouquets in Shaw has vacancy for one child under resources behind their actions it could be dif-
made to the price you can afford five years. Tel: 875505 ferent - but I refuse to be just another hypocrite.
Baskets, Posies, Headdress's
at your price, not the Shops
Tel: Sandy 0793 875665 Holiday Cottage, Devon
Comfortable cottage sleeps 415 in pretty village in
Clothing Alterations & Repairs Dartmoor National Park. Details available on request.
Tel: 872096 Sorry no pets. Phone 872282 or after 9 June 081 868 8478.
Mrs White, Freshbrook