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Update 2nd-7th
July 2001
Vansittart Wrecked?
Developments throughout
the week ending 7th July are included here
Vansittart
Rec Index
Monday 2nd July 2001
Vandalism continues
Sadly two groups of young
trees have now either been broken off or completely ripped from
the ground and the adjacent fencing broken down. Admittedly this
is a temporary paling fencing presumably to allow the grassed
areas to take a hold, but the actions of the few reinforce the
views of the many that too little is done to apprehend those
responsible. It is little wonder that these episodes continue
when zero effort is made to catch those responsible. The message
to vandals currently is "The community does not care...
get on with it... you won't get caught..."
Three trees snapped
off, Goslar Way side of Vansittart Rec
One of a second
group of saplings snapped off by the children's play area.
A sad sight for parents and young children coming to play here.
The same area,
showing the start of the paling fence smashed down
and the damage to three saplings
Fence and trees
vandalised over the weekend
A substantial length
of fencing pulled down along Goslar Way.
The initial damage above
was caused by teenagers wanting to take a - dangerous - short
cut across Goslar Way from the Skate Park into Green Lane. The
fence was broken down as a result. It has since been made very
much worse. The possibility is, as this area is the subject of
a planning application for redevelopment, that the fence will
remain down for many months.
'Around the Royal Borough'
Published - Skate Parks 'celebrated'!
Skate boarders around the
Borough have been 'jumping for joy' according to issue 2 of 'Around the Royal Borough' a costly colour number lauding
the achievements of the RBWM council. Councillor Philip Love,
Leisure and Cultural Services, claims to have "worked long
and hard to provide young skateboarders in the Borough with their
own Skate Parks - somewhere easily accessible where they can
go to practise their sport in a safe environment. We will encourage
them to respect both the new facilities and the needs of those
who live nearby."
We are writing to Cllr.
Love enquiring how he proposes to encourage respect for the facilities
and the needs of local residents.
Request by Skate Boarders
We have been asked by skate
boarding enthusiasts to point out that they are not responsible
for the damage to the trees or fences, the broken glass, the
damage to the gates, or the increased graffiti, or the bangers
let off in the area... or the noise late at night, or the shouting
of obsenities, or the motorbike incident, or under-age consumption
of alcohol... We are happy to include their request here.
We have also received an
email from a 17 year old studying for his exams
Read
letter from 17 year old
Update 5th July
The uprooted trees reported above remain
lying on the ground around the children's play area, four days
after the vandalism was first reported. We understand that it
may not be possible to replant immediately, and a short delay
is probably understandable before anything is done, but it must
be said that it sends entirely the wrong message to other children.
By leaving the trees just lying where they have been uprooted,
very young children may well be upset by the sight of the dead
trees, and certainly will not understand why they have been left
lying around. In addition, it will send a very clear message
to others that there is an element of indifference to the matter
and may easily lead to further similar incidents, the younger
generation being very susceptible to 'copy-cat' actions.
Local residents are annoyed by the lack
of action on the part of the Borough, quite apart from the frustration
that it ever happened in the first place. These days 'image'
is all, and the image that the Borough promotes in this instance
is either an inability to remedy matters, or a lack of interest
in doing so. Either way, the result is added frustration and
annoyance for those who do care about their town, and are keen
to see it presented at its best.
A second call to the Tree Officer at Maidenhead
Town Hall on Thursday afternoon confirmed their belief that the
up-rooted trees should have been removed at the first opportunity
so as not to encourage further similar acts, and it was stated
that they would be removed within 24 hours. Watch this space...!
Government's anti-social
behaviour initiative
We shall be watching with interest the
new initiative announced by David Blunkett, Home Secretary, where
vandalism and other anti-social behaviour is, it is claimed,
to be dealt with rather more harshly than has been the case in
recent years.
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