Fury over ‘vandalism’ at Hull Road Park

8:31am Wednesday 6th March 2013 in News

The hedgerow was removed from the play area The hedgerow was removed from the play area

A FURIOUS York woman has accused the council of ruining her local park and wasting tax-payers’ money by needlessly pulling out a hedgerow.

City of York Council workers arrived at the play area in Hull Road Park early yesterday morning and began removing the section of hedgerow which surrounds the play equipment.

However, Irena Zientek, 46, whose home overlooks the park is asking why the council is spending money on removing greenery at a time when it is considering leaving parks unlocked overnight to save money.

She said: “I think it’s quite bizarre that they can’t leave something, but they have to spend money on ripping it out.

“A few years ago they cut it back by half so people could see into the play area, but now they are pulling the whole thing out. There could still be wildlife in there and it adds to the ambience of the park. If anybody else had done this they would have been accused of vandalism.”

Mrs Zientek called on the council to stop pulling up the hedge and said local people should be asked for their views.

Russell Stone, of City of York Council, said: “The privet hedge has grown to an irregular thickness and height – between three and four feet high – and is interspersed with mature, mixed trees which will remain.

"The hedge abuts the perimeter fence of Hull Road Park and so no longer serves as a boundary. Instead, it obscures the views across the park for local residents, those who want to keep an eye on their children playing in the park, and for passers by.”

He said work had been temporarily halted to listen to the views of local residents and councillors, while also explaining the need to “rationalise maintenance responsibilities in the prevailing, challenging economic climate”.

He also said the council had checked for nesting birds before the work began.

Comments(13)

newbeginings says...
8:43am Wed 6 Mar 13

See and be seen !

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CaroleBaines says...
8:53am Wed 6 Mar 13

Oh goodness me. What a lot of fuss and nonsense. Council do gardening duties in a park they maintain, someone does not like it and runs to Press. Have we really reached this stage of pettiness? Seems so.

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wilko27 says...
9:01am Wed 6 Mar 13

It is not pettiness at all. Haven't the council heard of cutting back or thinning.

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Buzz Light-year says...
1:14pm Wed 6 Mar 13

In the same vein, someone removed the bushes behind the seating on the South Bank side of the Millenium Bridge. They used vehicles and have churned up loads of the grass by the bridge.

There used to be a lovely display of crocuses that came up in the shape of some letters there, I think it was a charity thing or a tribute.
Anyway, not anymore, thanks to the workmen.
Too often blokes just pile in with their machines and then clear off leaving an absolute mess.

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Mulgrave says...
1:23pm Wed 6 Mar 13

I see the restoration of the 'Boulevard' has included removal of a section of hawthorn hedge at the bottom of Grantham Drive that I remember from my childhood fifty years ago and I bet was there fifty years before that.

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bob the builder says...
2:39pm Wed 6 Mar 13

.. it's a new directive to save money, grub all hedges out to save on maintenance, it's cheaper to cut grass with a large mower, especially when sent out to tender to lowest quote. This is where the job cuts are coming, the parks dept.

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greenmonkey says...
3:30pm Wed 6 Mar 13

Correct, bob, but seems to completely ignore any idea of protecting biodiversity and wildlife in the city. Odds on that hedges around all parks are being rooted out so that they can go ahead with leaving them unlocked while still being 'overlooked' from outside. Has anyone got photos of the work in progress? If so should send to the press to shame those responsible for this philistine policy

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bloodaxe says...
4:20pm Wed 6 Mar 13

Gordon Bennett.

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Fourkov says...
9:16pm Wed 6 Mar 13

More likely a ploy to give Jimmy's mates less places to hide.

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Ronald Crumble says...
11:39pm Wed 6 Mar 13

bloodaxe wrote:
Gordon Bennett.
what has he got to do with it ?

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akaroa says...
12:04am Thu 7 Mar 13

Hedges are being uprooted, trees cut down all over the city, even the small hedge in the little garden across the road from the Bootham tavern have gone. This council will not be satisfied untill all greenery has been destroyed, grass cemented over, It saves money on maintenance. If the council want to save money they should sack some off the high paid wasters, stop freebies, curtail exhorbitent expenses etc.not the destruction of green spaces.

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HullRoadPark says...
1:00pm Thu 7 Mar 13

greenmonkey wrote:
Correct, bob, but seems to completely ignore any idea of protecting biodiversity and wildlife in the city. Odds on that hedges around all parks are being rooted out so that they can go ahead with leaving them unlocked while still being 'overlooked' from outside. Has anyone got photos of the work in progress? If so should send to the press to shame those responsible for this philistine policy
Photographs of this work in progress have already been sent to The Press. As yet, they have not published them. The photographs can presently be viewed on Twitter at YorkParks@HullRoadPa
rk (https://twitter.com
/HullRoadPark).

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lezyork1966 says...
4:17pm Thu 7 Mar 13

This is the same ''stunt and con job'' the council pulled with the gas fires, doing surveys, condemming all the gas fires in all council propertys, to fit more expensive to run electric fires, as then they dont need to spend on cleaning chineys....

Theres lots of safety railings gone missing, so if theres no safety railings, they must have made those areas less safe, were the public consulted???

why remove them? to save repairing and painting them of course!

its all to save costs for them and degrade safety and services for us, remember to use your vote wisely...

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