'Nightmare' overgrowth of Dedworth open space lambasted

A frustrated visitor to a Dedworth park has lambasted the ‘horrendous’ state of overgrown grass that she says has been growing unchecked for weeks.

Rosemary Fellows regularly walks her dog at Sutherland Grange, a nature reserve on the outskirts of Dedworth, managed by the RBWM.

She noticed in May that things had started to get very overgrown – and stayed that way well into June.

It came to a head when Rosemary caught her foot in a dent in the ground obscured by the long grass, falling and hurting herself.

Deciding this could not go on, she contacted several RBWM departments, letting them know the state of the park and that she had hurt herself.

Speaking to the Advertiser on Tuesday, Rosemary said she was told something will be done within the next week – but time passed and there was no action.

“They just don’t seem to care,” she said. “I’m getting so frustrated with RBWM not keeping the site safe for people to walk in.

“I’ve had two hip replacements, so I certainly don’t want to have an issue with those.”

“It’s like they’ve neglected it totally,” Rosemary continued. “It’s an absolute nightmare.

“The grass is over knee-height. I usually take my dog there every day – you can’t even see the [dog] poo to pick it up, the grass is so long.”

She added that the bins are ‘billowing with rubbish’ because they have not been emptied, and overflowing onto the ground.

“I’m driving to Bracknell at the moment, because in Bracknell, they cut all their public walking areas. They think about safety,” Rosemary said. “Someone comes every morning to empty the bins.

“No one ever comes to Sutherland Grange. They don’t seem to keep an eye on the site at all.

“There’s a lady who uses a walker can’t use it, at the moment – it’s horrendous.”

A council spokesperson, said: “A large proportion of the grass at Sutherland Grange is managed as a mixture of wildflower meadow and longer grass.

“There are parts of the site where the grass is cut on a monthly schedule, including paths.

“We are liaising with our contractor to make sure that these cuts are being carried out as expected.

“The grass paths were cut this week and will continue to be cut throughout the growing season, to allow access to the site.”

Grass cutting had been completed by the time the Advertiser visited the site on Wednesday.