Dear Sir,
After months of hard work by the Friends of West Park group, volunteering up to 3 days a week to clean the lakes at West Park of unsightly weed, algae and rubbish, we received a letter from Great Aycliffe Town Council instructing us to cease with immediate effect. Removing the weed they believe leaves the lakes critically low and will have an effect on the “eco-system”, but state that there is no objection to the removal of rubbish.
One Councillor is responsible for this letter and he knows who he is; a single minded individual with one narrow, unbending opinion of what they want “OUR” lakes to be… and when I say “OUR” lakes I mean every resident of Newton Aycliffe.
This person is responsible for the letter we received and did it in such a way as not to be implicated by not having their name mentioned in the correspondence.
The “boating” lakes in West Park are for boats and public enjoyment and “NEVER” intended to be used as a nature reserve, the small fish etc. that occupy the lakes have been there ever since they were built and there was “ZERO” weed or rotten leaves to cover the base.
The Council have purposefully neglected the lakes and they became a smelly unsightly and potentially dangerous place for people and their pets (Dogs running into them believing them to be grassed area) and they expect it to be turned into a nature reserve. I have never heard anything so absolutely ridiculous in all my life. These lakes are only a few inches deep and it is not realistic to even consider them to be used for anything other than what they were intended.
They are for the people of Newton Aycliffe to use for leisure activities such as boating, model boats and dipping. The Friends of West Park group wants to see this returned to its former glory and ensuring that the Swans, Ducks & Geese are tended for as they are an integral part of the park and will remain so for many years to come.
The Swans and Ducks are enjoying the clearer water and this is evident by the fact they now tend to avoid the filthy weed and algae filled parts that we have not yet gotten round to clean.
In the letter it states that we can still remove the rubbish….this is obviously prompted by someone who has absolutely no idea what it is like to walk around in the lakes. It is an impossibility to filter the rubbish from the matted weed, the weed comes out with the rubbish.We have tried to keep the weed separate so that it was easier for the council employees who took away what was removed (they have done a fantastic job) but the other way round is just not possible.
We need the whole of Newton Aycliffe to get involved in this and tell us what you want from West Park (Your Park!)
1) Do you want us to stop what we’re doing and let it return to the unsightly mess that it was a few months ago?
2) Do you want us to continue to clean the lakes and remove all of the weed, algae and rubbish so that they can be used for the purpose they were originally built for?
3) Do you want us to clean the top lake for boating and model boats and dipping and leave the bottom lake to be a smelly algae, weed and rubbish filled eyesore?
4) Do you want the lakes to be completely removed and something else put in their place?
Or do you have your own views? Whatever they are we want to know.
This is your town, tell us what you want, tell the Council what you want and let’s stop one person’s views from halting progress to ensure that we have a beautiful place for us and our children and our children’s children to enjoy for many years to come.
Andy Anderson