Historic mound in a sorry state

I recently took my young grandson to visit the Dane John Gardens: neither he nor I were impressed.

As we climbed to the top of the mound I was dismayed to find what a parlous state this historic monument is now in.

The mound and hedges are completely overgrown and the paths full of litter.

Worse still, at the top of the mound there are a series of deep gouges which are threatening the stability of the memorial and railings.

The city council carried out a full-scale restoration of the gardens in 1999, with considerable financial help from local people and businesses.

A plaque on the railings reveals that the Kentish Gazette sponsored the restoration of the railings at the monument, which was created as a memorial to the wonderful work in laying out the gardens, mound and terraces by Alderman James Simmons, that great Canterbury benefactor and founder of the Kentish Gazette.

I am sure that the present proprietors of the Gazette would be horrified if they knew how their investment was now threatened by the complete lack of maintenance by the city council.

The wonderful children’s play area in the shape of a castle was shamefully removed some years ago: now the site is a derelict eyesore with broken-down fences.

The water fountain in the middle of the garden is barely more than a bubble and the whole feature needs a thorough clean.

Further towards Worthgate, there is a large (and growing) rubbish dump.

One wonders if the council leader and his colleagues or any of the council officers ever actually walk around the centre of Canterbury: if they did, they ought to be highly embarrassed by what they see.

Instead of dreaming up ways of spending millions on unwanted projects, the council should be looking after those attractions that we still have.

J Mansell Jagger

Summer Hill, Harbledown