Mayor of Doncaster should stop the removal of flowers from snickets of Edenthorpe - Yorkshire Post Letters

The Mayor of Doncaster, Councillor Ros Jones, should intervene and stop her officials in the Highways department from removing flowers planted over the last 12 years by keen gardener Jen Oxley in the snickets of Edenthorpe, so that the narrow footpaths can be resurfaced with tarmac early in 2025.

These plantings of flowers are helping to prevent dogs owners from allowing their dogs from fouling as they are taking pride in the local environment.

When I was in charge of parks and open spaces in Barrow in Furness in Cumbria in the early 1990s I tried something similar by planting summer flowering bedding plants, such as Antirrhinums (Snapdragons) and French Marigold around the base of over 100 street trees on Abbey Road.

I asked the gardeners, who were working for me, to plant the plants when they were in flower and dog owners would respect this and remove dog fowling.

This certainly did work and was appreciated by residents of Barrow in Furness and inspired me to take things further by planting up growing bags on flat roof bus shelters with flowers such as Nasturtiums and trailing Lobelia.

These small landscape projects helped us in Barrow in Furness in getting an award in Cumbria in Bloom, against such towns as Kendal, Keswick and Coniston who between them won every year as plenty of money was spent on flowers in these tourist destinations.

As these narrow snickets such as those in Edenthorpe need periodic resurfacing, these plants can be protected by covering with heavy duty plastic sheeting before applying a 'tar slurry' which is often used to extend the life of footpaths.

In the majority of villages and towns around the United Kingdom these snickers are often sterile areas, which are covered in litter and dog fouling and look neglected as residents are not proud of their environment which they live in, which is sad.

This sort of thing should be encouraged by more Council officials around the country, as the amount of wildlife, from butterflies to small bird species attracted cannot be recognised and valued enough.

These are creating ‘urban wildlife corridors’ and give the same effect as hedgerows in the countryside.

It has taken years of hard voluntary work by Jen Oxley to get these plants established which was recognised by Doncaster City Council as making Jen resident of the year in 2017 when incidentally Ros Jones started her second term of office as Mayor of Doncaster.

I hope that the Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones, speaks to her director of Highways before the operatives with spades start to remove these valuable plants which gives so much pleasure to residents.