‘Park recalling city poet a junk site ruined by graffiti’
APARK often associated with a famous Welsh poet has been left to become a “junk site” with overgrowing vegetation and graffiti found at the site.
The section of Riverside Park, just off East Dock Road in Newport, was previously home to the words of a WH Davies poem, along with a concrete art installation that residents associate with the Pill-born poet.
Davies wrote the famous line “What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare?” in his work Leisure.
One resident, who asked to remain anonymous, walks their dog through the previously picturesque park every morning. They said the space has become a hotbed of drugs, rough sleepers and antisocial behaviour.
The resident, who has lived in the area for six years, said: “Every day I walk here. This park was beautiful – I’ve watched the trees grow.
“It’s a bloody junk site now.
“The young kids collect to do that ‘happy gas’ [nitrous oxide], you see all that. There’s glass, the walls have been ripped down numerous times. I’ve watched this place go down.
“We also get rough sleepers, loads of tents. Usually tucked in there [the trees].”
Another Newport resident, Barbara Ray, has witnessed the site falling into disrepair over the last few years.
The space is part of the 66-year-old’s Sustrans cycling route, and she said: “When it was first pointed out to me a couple of years ago, there was a disused water feature and it was full of various bits of rubbish.
“There was hoarding around with [WH Davies] poems and it was very interesting and you could see there was a lovely garden.
“The next time we went past it, which was about 18 months ago, all the hoardings with the poetry was just whitewashed out and by now the gardens were overgrown and there was more rubbish.
“I went past it the other day, yet again, and by now it had graffiti all over it.”
Newport council said the space is just a section of Riverside Park and that there is no such thing as the WH Davies Memorial Park.
Despite it not officially being a “memorial garden”, Barbara believes the park, which previously had WH Davies’ words written over a wall, is still important for heritage.
“It’s a garden to show off this poet we had in Newport. Newport’s quite proud.
“I would like to see it working again. God knows what it cost to build or commission. I know it’s only a concrete block but it’s etched with something.
“Now the houses are more or less complete, I can’t see why it can’t work again.”
According to the council, the piece of land is a section of the wider Riverside Park, which runs from Old Town Bridge to the Southern Distributor Road on both sides of the river.
A Newport City Council spokesman said: “Riverside Park is a circular route, running from Old Town Bridge to the SDR on both sides of the River Usk which was developed in 2011.
“It includes the cycle/pedestrian path and has various special features including an anchor with poetry and prose, including two quotes from Newport poet WH Davies, inscribed into paving.
“An inspection took place recently which took note of any defects, graffiti and overgrown areas.
“Once the spray and grass-cutting programme is completed this year, the grounds team will begin work on the park. This will include repairs, clearance and replanting.”