Vale of Clwyd MP Dr James Davies has thanked Denbighshire County Council for cutting two areas of overgrown grass in residential areas in Rhuddlan and Rhyl – and for reassessing how they are managed year-round in future – but is calling on the local authority to rethink its ‘wildflower meadow’ approach more generally, going forward.
Residents in both Nant Close, Rhuddlan, and Fern Way, Rhyl, were up in arms over the overgrown and unsightly ‘wildflower meadows’ close to their homes. In July, James attended a site meeting in Rhuddlan to hear concerns and he has since had ongoing dialogue with council officers regarding locations in residential areas across the constituency.
He was therefore pleased when Denbighshire officers acted on the residents' concerns at Nant Close and Fern Way, and cut the grass at both sites as planned, but proposed changes year-round for the future.
He would like the council to take a different approach going forward, focusing on a smaller number of larger sites.
He said:
“Denbighshire County Council’s ‘Wildflower Meadows’ project has been an increasing source of frustration in a number of areas in the county.
“Whilst I am very keen to support efforts to improve biodiversity, there needs to be a common-sense approach, with buy-in from local people. Currently, we are not always seeing this in Denbighshire.
“In Fern Way in Rhyl, residents were unhappy about the perceived lack of communication from the council, and the deprivation of usable green space. The land had been a designated play area for 35 years.
“Meanwhile, in Nant Close in Rhuddlan, much to residents' dismay, Denbighshire County Council stopped cutting an area of grass in front of their homes after 55 years of doing so.
"In early July, along with Rhuddlan Councillor Ann Davies, I met residents to listen to their concerns. At that point, much of the grass was 1.5 metres in height and was obscuring trees and ornamental roses.
“Residents were angry that they had not been consulted on this designation and had previously organised a petition, which was rejected by the council.
“Having maintained the area for more than half a century, the Council then threatened to withdraw oversight of the area in the long term.
"I am pleased the council has reconsidered its position regarding this site, with the area having now been cut and returned to a tidy green space. I hope it will remain this way.
“I really hope this common sense approach can be adopted in other areas too.”
In Fern Way the grass has also been cut.
Tynewydd Ward County Councillor Brian Jones, who pushed officers for the work to be done, said:
“I am extremely pleased that this area has now been cut and an agreement made with the residents for only part of the site to be used for a wildflower meadow going forward. It was looking extremely messy before and residents were upset that they were no longer able to use the site.”
Fern Way is one of eight county wildflower meadows chosen for the Council’s yellow rattle seeding programme to control grass length.
The others are:
Green Lane 2, Corwen
ATS roundabout, Denbigh
Maes Lliwen, Llanrhaeadr-Yng-Nghinmeirch
Meliden Embankment
Rhyl Coast Road
Vincent Close, Rhyl
Llys Brenig Park, Rhyl
James added:
“This is good news for the residents of these areas, but there is no mention of the long-term plan for other areas such as Splash Point, Plas Uchaf Avenue, and The Avenue Woodland Park, where there are ongoing battles.
“Splash Point was looking particularly messy before it recently received its end of season cut. This is a prominent spot on Rhyl promenade and the Council should be ensuring it looks in good shape both for the residents of the town and for visitors.
“Land ownership across the public sector, and within the local authority alone, is more than sufficient to accommodate biodiversity schemes without degrading built-up residential areas. Grassed areas in residential communities were developed for aesthetic reasons and to allow exercise and play. With general agreement, some or parts of these can be managed to encourage attractive and biodiverse wildflower meadows but we must be realistic as to the limits of what can be achieved, and avoid putting ideology ahead of common-sense.
“I am pleased that Denbighshire County Council have finally seen sense when it comes to Nant Close and Fern Way, and appear to have finally taken on board what the residents have been saying from the start. However, in relation to the ‘wildflower meadow’ project in general, I believe they still need to take a step back and look at the bigger picture.
“There are some sites which are well-suited to achieving greater biodiversity, but allowing grass and weeds to overgrow in urban residential settings is often not appropriate. Many such sites look a mess and are largely devoid of flowers and insects. Worse still, they often do not appear to be being managed appropriately to encourage wildflowers and are not reliably mown around the edges. If residents wished their surroundings to look like this, they would manage their own gardens similarly, but they certainly do not!
“There is no value in engaging in a dispute with residents for no appreciable gain.”
