Wiltshire Council, stop the chop!

WE’VE all been taking more notice of nature during the lockdown, as we’ve wandered the lanes and fields close to home.

And we can see how daft it is for Wiltshire Council to be spending OUR money on chopping down lovely, bee-and-bug-friendly roadside flowers in the name of tidiness.

Walking the dog today I came across a very pleasant council contractor in Middle Street, Harnham, strimming all the flowering heads off the plants on the verge and reducing the grass to the equivalent of a military No.1 haircut.

He told me they have to do this every single month.

This is on a minor suburban lane, a through route to nowhere, with no visibility problems whatsoever. It runs alongside a meadow managed particularly well, I think, by the city council and a team of volunteers for the benefit of wild creatures, especially butterflies, as well as junior footballers.

What a pointless and destructive exercise at a time when we’re all being exhorted to encourage wildlife and in particular, bees and other rapidly declining insect populations, by planting wildflower seeds and leaving wild areas unmown in our gardens.

Tomorrow (this Tuesday) Wiltshire Council’s cabinet is due to receive a report warning of a £50million impact on its finances from the coronavirus pandemic. In a worst case scenario, its reserves could be exhausted by next April.

Capital spending on projects such as the Maltings regeneration is having to be deferred. Radical rethinking is required.

Unless something turns up in the way of extra help, the forecast is “a threat to the current form and function of the council”.

Maybe the Guildhall Gang could get on to Trowbridge and ask them to show some sense, environmentally and financially. Goodness knows what this mowing contract costs. Much of it completely unnecessary. Who gave it the OK in the first place?

For all I know, there may be legal constraints that prevent Wiltshire renegotiating it straight away. And I'm darned sure they've got more pressing problems on their minds right now. But they should certainly announce that they will do so at the earliest opportunity.

Save money and save the planet! It's a no-brainer.