Mill Pond and the surrounding area seems to be victim to an increasing
amount of anti social behaviour and vandalism which is spoiling the appearance
of Mill Pond and the River Alt and surrounding area. The pond itself is home
to 3 dozen or more ducks, mainly mallards with some coots and moorhens. We
also have various species of bird which use the lake including periodic
visits from Swans, Geese and Herons.
Vandals winning the War
As reported on the website recently, the vandals seem to winning the war.
I decided to take a leisurely Sunday morning stroll to Mill Pond and check
carefully the various problems we have there. This walk was spoiled in
parts as I surveyed the deterioration and obvious lack of any really day
to day care. A beauty spot spoiled by the periodic appearance of trolleys,
bin bags, condoms, cans, burnt fences, graffiti, rubbish dumped, fly tipping,
bins overflowing, mill pond full of crap, carvings vandalised, the old footpath
being gradually ripped up,etc etc. In parts I could appreciate the natural
beauty, but I can't lie. The place overall looks like a tip. Something has
to be done, if anyone fancy perhaps cleaning up the place with a few volunteers
to shame the Council into action - get in touch. I'll happily get in the Alt
and clean it out if the wage is decent. By rights we should Knowsley councils
environmental officers or managers in there cleaning out the mess.
Trolleys in the Alt
As reported, there was a complaint to both Somerfield and Knowsley Council,
one of them is responsible for removing trolleys out of the river alt and strewn
along the pathway on St Chad's leading to Towerhill. I counted 3 big trolleys on
the path, and several trolleys in the River Alt and Mill Pond. Several photo
opportunities were spoiled as photos of the River Alt with trolleys in it will
not look too good on the Kirkby Times Photo Galleries. There were several bin
bags dumped along the rivers edge and what looked to be fly tipping operations,
both on St Chad's field by the Alt and near Mill Pond.
Wooden Bridge Burnt
The wooden bridge on Mill Pond is actually a danger now that it has
been burnt completely in the middle. A 10 foot section has been completely
burnt and there will need to be a lot of work to mend it.
Health and Safety Laws being broken?
The bridge is still open, you would have thought the Council should
have blocked it off whilst it presents a dangers. Towerhill is always poorly
served and we would not be surprised if this bridge is simply left in its
present state over the Christmas period. The bridge can be mended, and
leaving it in its current state may encourage more kids to light more
fires. Even if we repair it, unless we seriously look at a park warden
scheme, with possible back up from local security firms for a few hours
each evening, the problem will continue.
Wheelie Bin used to burn bridge.
The bridge was burnt using a plastic household wheelie bin. A close up
photo I took reveals the tell tale clue in the colour of the plastic
which can still be seen melted, clinging to the wood. We wonder what
the cost is for replacing the bins and the calls to the fire service
which doubtless happens as the bins are used to set things alight.
Old Tree Destroyed
A tree which has stood on Mill Farm for along time has now been
completely destroyed by fire. The entire middle of the tree's trunk has been
burnt out and the tree is now lifeless. The tree has a 'Danger Thin Ice'
sign on it - we'll all have noticed it as we passed by, its not the worlds
greatest tree but generations of us have stood under it, it was a part of
Kirkby, but now a bunch of scallies have destroyed it.
1% v 99%
What we have in Kirkby is a situation where less than 1%
of the community can hold the 99% at ransom. These scallies have the
law on their side, we cannot touch them, even the hardest of us will be
kicked to the floor by a mob of 15 to 20 kids made brave by a few cans
of beer and the knowledge that even if they killed you, they'd not really
be touched. They are winning because they are organised at a very elementary
level. We are losing because we are unorganised. All we have to help us is the
council and the police. They are losing but they won't admit it.
Park Wardens
Park Wardens would be a good idea. It would create
jobs for local people, many of us reading this would be happy
to be employed in such a useful manner. In the past we had a
number of scheme's using unemployed lads to clean up the Mill Pond,
the Chad etc, let's not head down that route again, employing full
time wardens is the right way, not some Mickey Mouse scheme. Proper
jobs, Proper wages. Let's not beat around the bush when it comes to
regenerating Kirkby - there's enough out of town middle class do
gooder pen pushers getting Fat Wages for doing sod all. Let's employ
local people who aren't afraid to get their hands dirty.
What do YOU think should be done?
