County beauty spots blighted by littering
DERBYSHIRE beauty spots have been littered with disgusting mess after the bank holiday weekend.
Visitors to scenic sites and parks d left rubbish around and in discarded bags. Derbyshire County Council has urged people to take their rubbish home with them.
It also says barbecues at any park or countryside site are not permitted – especially as the warm weather brings increased risk of fire.
Simon Spencer, council cabinet member for highways, transport and infrastructure said: “It is vitally important visitors use our sites responsibly and take their litter home.
“Regrettably, littering has increased since lockdown restrictions have been eased, with our staff spending considerable time picking up litter left by visitors. This impacts upon our ability to support visitors and deal with essential site duties and responding to reports of lost children.”
Mr Spencer wanted to remind residents that they should only spend time in parks with members of their own household, or one person from outside it.
He said: “We’d like to thank visitors who are social distancing, making good use of the space available and using our sites responsibly. It is important that everyone takes extra care and this includes limiting your use of narrow trails and towpaths that impact the two metre guidance.”
Visitors are also being reminded to not use council sites if car parks are full and warned against unauthorised parking.
Mr Spencer said: “Visitors should pay attention to signage at our sites including those that indicate our car park is full. Ignoring these signs causes congestion for other park users and in some instances puts other people in danger.” tter
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Visitors to a beauty spot on the Derbyshire border have been urged to take their rubbish home with them after a piles of litter – and even clothes – were left around an overflowing bin. A mess was left at Albert Village Lake, near Swadlincote, as visitors flocked to the venue last weekend.
And with another sunny weekend on the cards, managers at the spot are appealing to visitors to take their litter home – and not to leave it piled around the bin to blow about.
Plastic bags from picnics were left hanging out of the bin, on top and on the ground in the car park. Beer cans were also left piled around the area.
Other items included a black mat, clothes, empty boxes of beer, fast food wrappers, empty drink cartons, cardboard boxes and plastic bottles.
The high temperatures brought hundreds out to bask in the sun with a picnic. However, the volume of visitors meant a bin in the car park leading to the lake was overflowing.
The site is owned by the National Forest Charitable Trust, which has always asked people to take their rubbish home and protect the environment as well as respecting other visitors.
The trust has a contract with North West Leicestershire District Council which it employs to empty the bin every fortnight. The bin was due to be emptied yesterday.
The district council said it would be up to the charitable trust, as landowner, if it wanted to change the frequency of bin collections.
Seven years ago bins by the lake were removed after they were not emptied, despite promises from nearby residents to do so, the trust previously claimed. At the time, the trust said it would cost it £30,000 to empty them, or it could, instead, remove them.
However, bins were kept at the entrances to the site.