A well-attended Rye Town Council meeting on Monday, September 1 discussed a wide range of topics: from flags to bikers, flower meadows to town twinning.
The meeting began with Councillor Rivett expressing strong appreciation, supported by warm applause from the public, for the service that Rebekah Gilbert has given to Rye over her time as councillor and mayor. He reminded councillors of the difficult times during COVID, and the many projects that she has contributed towards, most recently the successful re-launch of Rye Leisure Centre.
The mayor then opened the meeting to public comment, the first of which referred to the recent spray painting of several pieces of highway infrastructure with images of flags. To applause from attendees, it was pointed out that, though this is an emotive issue, vandalism is unacceptable, and a request was made to the council to speed up removal of the graffiti. The mayor commented that flag flying, when done appropriately, was perfectly acceptable but the council agreed to contact the authorities responsible for taking action.
Moving on to the main agenda items, the council agreed unanimously to provide a grant to support the project to restore the town war memorial as an important reminder, especially to younger people, of our history and sacrifice.
Simon McGurk, a Rother District councillor, was then invited to explain his proposal to make the Iron Salts, the stretch of green area from the bowls club to Rock Channel, into a wild flower meadow, supported by local land owners. This caused some controversy, with Councillor Hughes pointing out that this area was originally designated to be used as a leisure facility where children could kick a ball about or families could have picnics, and should be regularly mown to accommodate this. Councillors agreed that the current situation, as managed by Rother District Council, was completely unacceptable and unpleasant and a new management plan was needed. A note of humour was introduced when Councillor Everett suggested that putting sheep on the Salts would meet all necessary requirements! The conclusion was to encourage Councillor McGurk to continue to develop his plan, taking into account all views, for further discussion.
Counsillor Hoggart then proposed the introduction of a Public Space Protection Order (PSBO) to address anti-social bike riding in and around Strand Quay. This is a mechanism to prohibit certain activities in a defined area and could include: excessive noise, bikes on pavements, and parking restrictions, amongst others. Many councillors strongly supported the proposal, with Councillor Boyd stating that the issue had got out of hand. However councillors also recognised that it is not all who are responsible for the disruption and that visits by bikers bring business to the town, especially in the area around Strand Quay. Councillor Bookless, admitting to being an ex-biker, supported some restrictions but also suggested that some tolerance and balance was also needed. Enforcement was also discussed, with multiple agencies potentially involved in policing the PSBO, but it should still act as a deterrent. The proposal was supported and will now be taken further.
Finally, Rebekah Gilbert updated the council on the proposed informal twinning with Montreuil-sur-Mer. The process started in 2022 and so far has been a low-cost, mutually beneficial partnership, especially benefiting younger people. The mayor of Montreuil is now hoping to take things further, ideally resulting in a formal twinning of the two towns. This presented a problem for the council, as no funding is available for this type of activity, contrary to the situation in France. However, increasing collaboration between the two towns was seen as highly beneficial and discussions will continue to deepen cooperation.
Image Credits: Stuart Harland .
The salts should be kept mown as it always was ,A space where all can enjoy .
If an event ( Circus, Fair ,Food fair , Bonfire ) is on the other part there is no where left as an open space.I personally played football on therefore many years, Hockey,It’s a knockout , Medieval Festival and many more used this as an arena .wild flower meadows are a good idea but must be on wasteland not sports grounds,
Ticks,Ragwort and other dominant plants will thrive as no one will maintain this area and if they do the cost will be far greater than mowing the grass.
It’s important to note that my proposal for the Iron Salts is not that the whole field is made into a wild flower meadow, it’s a tatty mess now with limited benefit to nature and of even less use to residents and visitors alike. This plan is for more frequent cuts throughout the year and for swathes of wildflowers but certainly not the whole area, its a good blend of the two and we aim to suppress harmful Ragwort and Feeling Thistle from spreading. I have called it a trial or proof of concept because the Salts are fertile, alkali soils that might not sustain wildflowers, certainly the seed mix has to be adapted to the conditions. I want to ensure it is much more accessible to us to use for events (this was in my report to Rye Town Council and to Rother District Council), is of improved benefit to nature and also visually appealing. I’ve had some great offers of help and support from the community including help buying specialist seeds. I intend to write a fuller report to update everyone when details are sorted out but please be reassured the Iron Salts area will be mowed later this month and crucially Rother have agreed to remove the cuttings which is not usually something that happens, this has been agreed to support establishment of this trial and to enhance the usability of the area for locals and visitors. More info to come!
Cllr McGurk’s proposed trial seems like an excellent idea. Prior to its current state I really did not notice very much public usage of this area. Occasionally people did but it was rare (we lived within view of the Iron Salts for 5 years until 2019).
If Cllr McGurk’s proposal is as he says multi purpose and helps return a large proportion of the Iron Salts to public recreational space then I’d support it subject to seeing the detail. Your point about lack of use perhaps illustrates the great malaise that has overshadowed this country since Thatcher first introduced the concept of reactive governance rather than proactive governance. If a facility is not used councils at all levels should invest time and thought into understanding why and taking steps to encourage and improve use, support community initiatives rather than looking at “how can we monetise this” (eg the current policy with public toilets. Instead they revert to the standard assessment process whereby facilities become neglected, then underused, then removed on the spurious basis of economics. The mantra “use it or lose it” is a lazy social cop-out in my view
I agree that the Salts should be maintained by mowing the grass regularly. Flower meadows sound idyllic, but the reality could prove the opposite – as pointed out by James. Unfortunately, there is also the ‘pootential’ problem of the minority of irresponsible dog owners who don’t clean up after their dogs.
This idea that dogs poo in long grass seems strange. My own observation has been that dogs prefer areas of short grass or a nice path or pavement to do their business on; if they enter long grass areas, it’s usually in pursuit of a moving object (ball or animal) or an interesting smell. I think it was Cllr John Breeds who also pointed this out in Monday’s discussion, saying that dog mess smells are most likely to result from owners staring at their phones and (perhaps conveniently) not noticing when their off-leash dog “performs”. Dog owners, please correct me if your own Fido seeks out meadows for a bit of privacy!
It’s time Rye town council looked at the bigger picture, if it’s not going to be used for sports or other functions, let’s have some vision from them and turn this area into a park,just like Bexhill and Hastings have,I’m sure there are funds available for this too happen, and its time councillors left a legacy of their tenancy, to visitors and locals alike.
Jane, after conferring with my Billy, he tells me he prefers short to medium grass and does not really like to be watched! But, as a responsible dog owner, I keep an eye on him and certainly clear away the evidence. Not always possible in long grass though!
I approve of wild flower swathes but with the rest kept shorter and tidy. Also it would be great to see more events on there. Not so keen on the Community Orchard next door. Would be ideal as a proper picnic area with more seating, a fun sculpture or similar, and a covered shelter., but it probably won’t ever happen!
Your ideas sound the perfect solution, with something for everyone. As a lifelong dog owner, I have had dogs which ‘go’ wherever they are – making it easy to clean up. However, my last beloved pooch (no pun intended!) hated to be watched and would often disappear into bushes etc. If he ran off into long grass, I could always check his whereabouts by watching the path he swathed as he ran. If he stopped, for whatever reason, I knew exactly where he was and would check for any ‘gifts’. Mostly though, he had stopped for a sniff or a roll around.