Students at St John’s, Marlborough, are to be invited to join volunteer litter pick parades in the town’s green spaces along with councillors helping out as part of a concerted effort to keep the town clean.
It follows the discovery of a pile burnt student passes for the school, possibly belonging to school leavers, in Priory Gardens, which have now been identified and the names logged.
They were discovered when councillors went on a walkabout aiming to find ways of removing the clutter of street furniture in the High Street and the “the menace” of advertising boards retailers have placed outside their shops.
And also looking for potential sites for dedicated street seats and a possible bus shelter of modern design by the Post Office in the High Road.
“I have had the student passes identified by various sources and know exactly who they belonged to,” chairman Councillor Richard Pitts told the Amenities and Open Spaces Committee on Monday.
“I intend to write to Dr Patrick Hazlewood, the headmaster, highlighting the issue and to get some students involved in the litter pick operation we propose to have here.”
He referred also to complaints the council had received of students ignoring the Priory Gardens regulations to the annoyance of others, in particular older people, by regularly playing ball games, cycling in the gardens and also urinating.
Councillor Noel Barrett-Morton reported that he had already written to Dr Hazlewood about the misuse of the area.
“But he seems to take the attitude that once the students are away from school premises, then the school is not responsible for their behaviour,” he said. “I feel that the least Dr Hazlewood should do is to make a clear statement about this during assembly.”
“The days of park keepers are long gone but I believe these students tend to monopolise the Priory Gardens and treat them as an additional school playground. The behaviour of some students leaves much to be desired.”
Councillor Caroline Jackson said it was important that the students should be given some sense of ownership in the community in which they lived and supported the volunteer litter pick proposal, originally the inspired idea of Councillor Bryan Castle.
Now plans are being made for the organisation of individual litter pick days being launched in “black spots” in the town, the scheme co-ordinated by Marlborough activist Val Compton.
She litter picks on virtually a daily basis, particularly along the banks of the Kennet and in Cooper’s Meadow, and has run anti-litter campaigns in the past.
She has now offered to act as a conduit for the information and can be contacted by email at valcompton@tiscali.co.uk
Val launched a SMART — Support Marlborough And Remove Trash — campaign in October last year on Love Where you Live day.
“That’s just what the vast majority of people in Marlborough do, they love where they live,” she told Marlborough News Online. “Already we have some informal litter pickers now that the town council has supported my request for some litter picking sticks being made available for loan to members of the community”.
She added: “Although our brilliant street scene team and ground staff of the town council do a wonderful job, they need and deserve some volunteer help. Hoping people will get behind the idea, as I have found that gradually less litter is dropped, the faster you can make it disappear. “Litter really does attract litter so let’s aim high – a litter free Marlborough.”
