Highland Council rewilding programme left Wick park looking ‘horrendous’
A section of Wick’s largest public park was left looking “horrendous” as a result of a Highland Council rewilding initiative, it has been claimed.
The large grassy expanse at the top end of the Bignold Park was allowed to grow to about knee height this summer before eventually being cut and baled.
Highland Council said the aim was to improve biodiversity. However, social media users branded the uncut grass “a disgrace”, “an eyesore”, a “dump” and “a health hazard” and there were reports of ticks.
The park was donated to the people of the town in 1903 by Sir Arthur Bignold, who served as MP for the Wick Burghs from 1900 to 1910.
Highland Council leader Raymond Bremner told the Royal Burgh of Wick Community Council this week: “The future of the Upper Bignold Park will be discussed by officers and park users in the next few weeks.
“As I understand it, any change of use will be consulted on. However, officers are considering what the future use will be of the Upper Bignold, including no change of use.”
Community councillor Norma Craven said: “I’m maybe one of the few who support the rewilding of the Bignold Park.
“Who are the users? As far as that top bit is concerned, there are no benches, there are no picnic tables… the only people who use that are people taking short cuts and dog-walkers.”
The Upper Bignold football pitch, used regularly from April to August for amateur league and cup matches, is close to the rewilding area. The pitch is cut and maintained by local clubs.
Councillor Bremner, who represents Wick and East Caithness on the local authority, pointed out that during the summer there had been “a bit of aggro” and “disruption to games” with balls being kicked into the long grass.
He also noted that the top area of the park is used by teams for warm-ups.
Treasurer Joanna Coghill pointed out that the Bignold Park is common good land, so “you have to put it out for consultation”.
Claire Mackenzie, a co-opted member of the community council, said: “My kids have used that park all their lives and I just think that right now it looks horrendous, when you look across that field and you see this yellow patch.
“And the mess that they left the Bignold Park in taking those bales out was a blooming disgrace. They chewed the whole park up, and that’s not what the park is for.”
She felt that “there is a place for everything” and did not consider the Bignold Park to be suited to the rewilding programme. “And I think if Highland Council has a track record of not looking after current rewilding then they’re not going to look after that either,” Mrs Mackenzie added.
She also pointed out: “The bales that they took away were then loaded up into the Harmsworth Park on the day that there was a football match and I thought, ‘Oh, my God, you’ve got folk coming to this town and the first thing they see when they walk in are great big bales.’ It didn’t look very good.”
Councillor Bremner replied: “I think they’ll do well to review everything.”
In July, a Highland Council spokesperson said: “The council is working on a number of projects to improve biodiversity across Highland, including rewilding efforts in some locations to allow grass and wildflowers to grow freely.
“The long grasses provide excellent habitats for small insects and pollinators. In time, when this grass is cut and lifted from site, it will create a more nutrient poor area of ground which are the preferred conditions for natural wildflowers to grow and so a wider variety of wildflowers may emerge over time.
“This is a longer process which takes a few years of cut and lift before the habitat starts to adapt.”
In April this year, the council announced that 336 native trees were being planted in the Bignold Park as part of efforts to improve biodiversity.
In 2020, investigations by Highland Council found that some of Wick’s most prominent common good assets had been “misclassified” for decades. These include Bignold Park.
According to a Highland Council document from 2021 about a proposed common good asset register for Wick, Sir Arthur Bignold had acquired the ground with a view “to its being utilised as a public park and recreation ground for the inhabitants of Wick and Pulteneytown”.
