Since the beginning of the Council’s recent campaign to draw attention to the need for dog owners to clean up after their pets, the following pavement ’spray signs’ have appeared at some of the main entrances to the Wom Brook Walk:
Sprayed onto the pavements, each sign reads:
CLEAN IT UP
FINE £1000
SOUTH STAFFORDSHIRE COUNCIL.
These signs are not permanent-they will eventually wash away.
Hopefully the message conveyed will be permanent.
Friends of Wom Brook
July Events 2009
Thursday 2nd July - Work Party (10:00-12:00, meet at the picnic benches, Gravel Hill section)
Saturday 11th July - Work Party (10:00-12:00, meet at the picnic benches, Gravel Hill section)
Saturday 18th July - Event: Butterflies of Baggeridge, a joint meeting with the Butterfly Conservation. Meet 10:30 a.m. outside Baggeridge Visitor Centre.
Friday 24th July-Event: Bat Walk-meet Civic Centre car park, 9:30 p.m.
Following numerous complaints about the extent of dog mess being left along parts of the Wom Brook Walk, particularly in the Poolhouse area of the village, enforcement officers from South Staffordshire Council yesterday launched a high profile campaign to introduce themselves to dog owners, and to make owners aware of the campaign which will be ongoing for the next few weeks.
Initially dog owners are asked very politely whether they carry plastic bags with them in order to remove dog deposits. If a dog owner proves to be uncooperative, then the enforcement officers have the power to issue an on the spot fine.
Regrettably it has become necessary to resort to this strategy, as increasingly a minority of irresponsible individuals are disregarding the safety of others, particularly children, who are at risk of contracting serious illness if they accidentally come into contact with dog excrement.
The open spaces within Wombourne are for the enjoyment of everyone, and a little fore thought will make a visit to our village’s outdoor spaces a pleasurable experience for all.
This forthcoming Saturday-
The Friends of Wom Brook are staging a trip along the South Staffordshire Railway Walk-a local safari on foot, where local flora and fauna can be observed.
The BBC weather forecast is at the moment of posting this announcement, predicting a light rain shower for the area on Saturday. Therefore please come prepared with suitable clothing. If you have any questions about the walk, please post a comment below.
Over the last fortnight, notice has been given by South Staffordshire
Council (the ‘Council’) that it is proposed to designate the Wom Brook and Wom Brook Walk, along with the Council’s land adjoining the Brook, as a ‘Local Nature Reserve‘.
Why do this?
Those familiar with the area will attest to its natural beauty, the vital open spaces it provides within an urban area, the opportunities to view local flora and fauna, and a vital ‘breathing space’.
In serving notice of their intentions to confer LNR status on the Brook and its surrounding lands, the Council is further protecting the area against misuse, and confirming its intention to continue working with Wombourne to conserve this local beauty spot.
More information may be found relating to nationally recognised conservation sites at the Natural England website-please click on this link.
Due to the ravages of time and weather, bricks from the retaining wall on the Rookery Road side of the Wom Brook have gradually been dislodged and have found their way into the water. (Wombourne residents will recognise this part of the Brook - just below the Pool Dam Bridge, connecting the Guide Hut with Rookery Road, close to the vet’s)
Today a working party from the Friends of Wom Brook brought wheelbarrows in order to carry away surplus bricks and slabs to be collected later by South Staffordshire Council.
The aim of today’s project was not just to improve the appearance of the Wom Brook at that point-but also to restore the original flow of water thus limiting an increase in the water weed coverage.
The bricks are just visible in the foreground of the photograph.
Yet again, this lone blog entry - the first in nearly two months, begins with an apology for no recent postings. The excuse is plain and simple-work has been the major obstacle. This will be the first and only post for a fortnight, when hopefully more regular postings will recommence.
The Friends of Wom Brook group held their Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the beginning of January, and all of the committee were re-elected.
The group will hold its next outdoor activity-weather permitting-on Saturday 2nd February 2008, meeting at 10:00 at the picnic benches on the Gravel Hill section of the Wom Brook.
If you live in or near Wombourne, and could contribute a couple of hours to assist with tidying up the Brook area, you’d be most welcome.
Litter pickers and rubbish sacks will be provided-please come equipped with warm, weatherproof clothing.
Apologies for the lack of recent blog entries - two things happened-a few days away from the computer, only to discover upon my return that no uploads were possible to this blog due to a software upgrade, and associated server problems. These have thankfully been resolved now (thanks Matt). Hopefully over the weekend there will be a couple of entries.
Often the work of the volunteer Thursday and Saturday morning groups goes unreported. Sometimes a group may comprise of just a couple of committee members-on other occasions, such as on the first Saturday morning of a new month, members are joined by like-minded folk who take an equal pride in the appearance of the Brook and its adjoining banks.
The above picture shows a rather full rubbish sack-one of 10 that were filled at the end of the last litter clearance of the Brook three weeks ago-when the stretch of the Wom Brook walk (the path that runs alongside the Brook) between the Gravel Hill picnic benches and Giggetty Ford was cleared.
The emphasis this time was on cutting back nettles and brambles that have obscured the Brook from the footpath-thus providing the space for fresh vegetation to grow next spring, and in turn provide new habitats for a host of wildlife-from minibeasts to the more familiar bird life-represented by the numerous pigeons we see along the Brook.
So a big thanks to last week’s volunteers-judging by the numerous green sacks stacked by the wall by the Bow bridge (next to Gravel Hill)-a job well done!
Wom Brook clean-up
Thursday 1st November & Saturday 3rd November - this week
10 am-12 midday
Please bring warm, weatherproof clothing, and gardening-type gloves
Litter-picker tools and refuse sacks will be provided.
PLEASE MEET @ GRAVEL HILL PICNIC BENCHES