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Uncut grass in Wick public park a ‘disgrace’ and ‘a health hazard’





The uncut Bignold Park grass is taller than a small dog.
The uncut Bignold Park grass is taller than a small dog.

Concerns have been raised over a huge expanse of knee-high grass in a public park in Wick, amid speculation that ticks may be posing a risk to people and pets.

Social media users commenting on the overgrown state of the south-east section of the Bignold Park have called it “a disgrace”, “an eyesore” and “a health hazard”.

Some local residents reckon the unkempt swathes are a result of Highland Council cost-cutting, while others believe it may be a deliberate attempt to promote biodiversity.

One social media post warned that there had been reports of ticks and advised: “Check yourselves, kids and pets if they are using that area.”

Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne illness, and ticks are known to inhabit grassy areas as well as woodland and bogs.

Bignold 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.

While the Upper Bignold football pitch has been well maintained, widespread areas of grass surrounding it have remained uncut this summer. The biggest section is directly across from the top end of Harrowhill.

Diagonal strips have been cut through to allow walkers to make their way to and from the football pitch, which is used regularly for amateur football matches from April to August.

Highland Council signs at two entrances to the park, illustrated with butterfly artwork, say it is “Managed for Wildlife”, adding: “Natural habitat for pollinators and other wildlife.”

On social media there have been calls for the local authority to take action.

One person wrote: “The area at the Bignold Park is a disgrace. The amount of litter that is collecting there is also becoming an issue. I have also heard of young kids standing in dogs’ dirt.

“I am all for biodiversity and having natural habitats for pollinators and other wildlife but I’m sure with a bit more thought from Inverness they could have found plenty of other areas around the town.”

Before and after: Wick’s Bignold Park as it used to be…
Before and after: Wick’s Bignold Park as it used to be…
… and now with long grass covering a wide expanse of the park’s south-east corner.
… and now with long grass covering a wide expanse of the park’s south-east corner.

Another social media user agreed, saying: “There are plenty of places that can be left to grow for the bees and butterfly population, but the Bignold Park is not one of them! Get it cut, Highland Council, it is now a health hazard as well as an eyesore!”

There was also a suggestion that “everyone should write or email their councillors and complain”.

However, another person felt the longer grass would be beneficial to nature, saying: “It is being left to encourage wildlife, something that would be welcomed anywhere.

“There is a part of the park dogs can use. The wild part is beginning to look good.”

The three Wick-based amateur football clubs, Wick Groats, Wick Thistle and Staxigoe United, pay for the Upper Bignold pitch to be cut and lined by Wick Academy ground staff. The amateur clubs also arrange to have the Upper Bignold pitch fertilised and the goalmouths returfed at the start of each summer season.

In October 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.

Common good assets are defined as property that belonged to Scotland’s former burghs before local government reform in 1975. They are held by councils principally for the benefit of the community of the former burgh in question.

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”.

He gifted it to Wick “for the use and enjoyment of the inhabitants”.

Highland Council has been approached for comment.

One of the areas that have been left uncut, with the Upper Bignold football pitch beyond.
One of the areas that have been left uncut, with the Upper Bignold football pitch beyond.

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 across the region.

A keen local gardener who inspected the top end of the park this week said: “It’s disappointing if it is intended for pollinators because it’s clear that no wildflower seeds have been planted. There’s clover and cow parsley, but there are no wild flowers that you would expect to see in an area for pollinators.

“And the trees that were planted are totally swamped now – nutrients and moisture are going to be taken away from the trees. Some of the trees that were planted appear to be struggling, and it’s just long grass growing around them.”

One of the Highland Council signs describing the area as ‘natural habitat for pollinators and other wildlife’.
One of the Highland Council signs describing the area as ‘natural habitat for pollinators and other wildlife’.

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