The pastoral scenes of sheep grazing near the River Kennet in the centre of Marlborough could be at risk, following a move by town councillors to revoke grazing rights.
Members of the Open Spaces committee have voted to withdraw references to grazing rights from the Cooper’s Meadow Management Plan – effectively ending the practice of using sheep or cattle for conservation purposes.
However, the vote will need to be ratified by full council on Monday, December 15, and a Facebook group set up to Keep The Sheep at www.facebook.com/keepthesheepmarlborough has already attracted more than 100 members.
Supporters have also set up an online petition at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/397/011/003/keep-the-sheep/?taf_id=13197087&cid=fb_na#, and hope to attract 1,000 signatures.
And Action for the River Kennet – which has been managing the land for five years – will be tabling a question at the meeting.
It was back in 2009 that Marlborough Town Council took the decision to manage Cooper’s Meadow – a water meadow behind Kennet Place and the George Lane Car Park – with cattle and sheep, rather than by lawnmower.
Since then the livestock and wild flowers have been a welcome attraction to members of the public taking a riparian walk, or using the adjoining children’s play area.
In a statement released today (Wednesday) ARK said: “We have been allowed to manage the meadow by grazing as part of a wider habitat restoration project funded by charitable donations.
“We have turned it from an area dominated by ruderal and rank vegetation (docks, nettles, meadowsweet and thistle) to a grassland with a high proportion of fine grasses and an increasing number of wild flowers.
“We have seen clear results and people have enjoyed seeing livestock in the Town Centre.
“Abolishing grazing work would cost the council public money. To maintain the wildflowers they would need to hire or buy a machine to cut-and-cart in addition to the significant cost of removing fencing.”
In a statement, Marlborough Town Council said: “We welcome input from Marlborough’s voluntary and community groups and recognise the huge improvements made to the river environment at Cooper’s Meadow by ARK.
“As the Town Council is solely responsible for the meadow under its lease with Wiltshire Council (formerly Kennet District Council) and to ensure that it continues to be properly managed, a Management Plan has been drafted by the Council’s Grounds and Estates Manager.
“At the moment, there are some issues around the legality of grazing and other work being compliant with covenants set out in the lease and these concerns together with the draft Management Plan itself will be discussed at the Full Council meeting on 15th December. This meeting is open to the public and everyone is welcome to attend.”
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