Nestlé pledge to tidy up gardens (From York Press)

Nestlé pledge to tidy up gardens

10:29am Saturday 12th January 2013 in News By Mike Laycock, Chief reporter

Bosses at Nestlé have pledged to tidy up gardens in front of a former factory building in York following complaints by Press readers that they were in a “disgusting state”.

The company has also revealed it intends to get historic clocks in the grounds working again, using solar energy to power them.

Readers Stephen Newton and Steve Aldous wrote to the newspaper last month to complain about the state of the gardens off Haxby Road.

Mr Newton, of Haxby, described the grounds as an “unkempt jungle”, which he suggested were a “slap in the face” to former employees.

Mr Aldous, a former Rowntree employee from Wigginton, wrote that the grounds were in a “sad and disgusting state”, adding: “It is an absolute disgrace to see the numerous weeds, overgrown bramble stems and unkempt bushes just growing wild.”

Now Matt Stripe, group human resources and facilities director, has written to The Press to thank the readers for taking the time to write in with their concerns. He said Nestlé took such comments to heart and apologised for failing to maintain the gardens to a suitable standard.

He said the old factory buildings and gardens were closely associated with the Rowntree legacy, and when Nestlé decided to invest in the northern end of the site to create a modern facility fit for the 21st century it retained a key building to become a focal point in any future development.

He said the Cocoa Works site continued to be marketed, with outline planning permission for a mix of residential and commercial development. But until the site was sold Nestlé would take more care of the gardens, and work was already under way.

Mr Stripe said: “In addition to this we have also taken the decision to repair and switch back on the historic clocks in Haxby Road and Wigginton Road.”

He said the clocks had not worked since the electricity supply to that part of the site was disconnected some years ago.

“At the end of last year, to celebrate the After Eight 50th Anniversary, we moved the hands to just after 8 o’clock,” he said.

“This prompted us to look into how the clocks could be returned to full working use.

“The work will begin in several weeks and they will be powered sustainably through solar energy.”