9:52am Saturday 21st July 2007
By Nicola Fifield
A PROUD gardener says he is disgusted by the "shambolic" state of an ancient common, which he claims has been neglected by the city's park chiefs.
Bill Carr, of North Lane, in Dringhouses, York, said parts of Hob Moor, which lies between Acomb, Holgate and Dringhouses, were an "eyesore", after becoming overrun with nettles, thistles and the killer weed ragwort.
He claimed the moor was a "disgrace" to the city, and called on City of York Council, which is responsible for maintaining Hob Moor, to take urgent action.
The 77-year-old, whose garden backs on to the south end of the moor, said: "I've lived here 33 years and it's never got like this.
"Every July somebody from the council normally arrives on a tractor to cut it, but this year they completely missed out the area behind North Lane.
"It looks like a shambles, and it's impossible for anybody to walk on that part of the moor.
"I find it quite unacceptable that the council has let it get like that."
Mr Carr said he phoned the council's York Pride Action Line a week ago to report the problem, and was told that it would be sorted "in due course".
He said: "That's not good enough. The moor is covered in nettles and thistles and they're growing right up over the top of my fence and underneath it as well.
"I'd say that was encroachment on my land.
"I have the most marvellous garden, and this week I held an open garden event to raise money for charity.
"Everybody who came loved the garden, but said how much of a shame it was that we had to overlook that mess. They said it shouldn't be allowed."
Peter Chaundy, a neighbour of Mr Carr, who also took part in the open garden event, said he too was concerned about the state of the moor, and particularly the presence of ragwort.
But a council spokeswoman said it was not common practice to cut back nettles.
She said: "Hob Moor is a local nature reserve and nettles are a native species, which means that they would not be routinely cut back.
"However, a nearby resident has been in touch to express his concern about nettles and, as a gesture of goodwill, we have agreed to cut back a strip along the perimeter of his property."
She also said it was part of the council's management plan for Hob Moor to regularly remove ragwort, which can be dangerous to horses and cattle.
She said: "We regularly pull ragwort by hand, and a contractor will be going back on the site to remove the latest crop in the near future."
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.yorkpress.co.uk