Blight and shade in Hockney land

Woldgate, near Bridlington where the artist now lives, will feature soon in a new Hockney trail and if his new exhibition at the Royal Academy’s popularity is anything to judge by, could become a tourist trap.

But recent visitors have found it far from picturesque.

One complained: “A tourist trap was mentioned; hopefully not in its present state.

“We travelled the whole length of Woldgate recently and the whole route was an eyesore.

“The woods/copses were more like tips – strewn with abandoned household items. The hedgerows littered with plastic and paper. Fly-tipping on an almost industrial scale – what a disappointment!”

A visit confirms that Woldgate is indeed far from pristine.

A long list of detritus starts with a mound of tyres under a bush, not far from a heap of building rubble and tyres. In what should be a sylvan glade, a shattered TV lies by the roadside.

A short excursion into the woods reveals an ice cream machine stranded on its side, surrounded by fuel cans.

More rubbish-strewn verges – including intact dinner plates – leads to the second wood on Woldgate, Sands Wood – inspiration for The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire, 2011 – which takes over the largest gallery at the Royal Academy.

The woods also contain the chopped-off trees that gripped the artist’s imagination as “totems”.

But tucked away just off the road, neatly framed by the ramrod-straight trees Hockney delights in painting, an inquisitive visitor will find an armchair with its stuffing ripped out and innards exposed, surrounded by bags of rubbish, carpets and a car dashboard.

Godfrey Bloom, MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber, thinks East Riding Council could do much more.

He said the council had the means to take down UKIP election signs on verges four days after they were put up, but “don’t have the resources to pick up cans and Lucozade bottles”.

He said: “Most of the litter appears to be in East Yorkshire. As soon as you cross the border into North Yorkshire it’s significantly less. I think they could really bang the drum, clear everything up, say ‘Hockney has put us on the map and we are not going to let him down’.

“All the council needs to do is clean it up, for goodness sake – we don’t get much else for our money do we?”

Local councillor Ray Allerston said: “I don’t know if it’s got any worse but it’s not getting any better. The council does what it can, but they are always at it on Woldgate because it’s a quiet road.”

Welcome to Yorkshire said: “The exhibition has put a global spotlight on this area of Yorkshire and unfortunately rubbish appears to be a problem at some of the sites.

“We are aware of this, but is not something we can take action on directly as it is a local council issue.

“However, we will work with them to help in any way we can to improve the experience for visitors to the area.”

The council is responsible for clearing roadside litter – but anything further into the woods is the private landowner’s responsibility.

The authority said they would not hesitate to prosecute anyone found littering.

A spokeswoman said: “We are constantly tidying up the area, clearing away fly-tipped waste and litter.

“We have made numerous appeals for witnesses to any incidents and have shown that we will not hesitate to prosecute anyone found littering, fly-tipping and those who have disposed of waste through an unlicensed carrier.”