Rhyl residents left upset by wildflower meadow ‘want our field back’

This site is part of a wider project of DCC, which looks to restore and increase the number of habitats available for pollinators and wildlife across the county.

The wildflower meadow at Fern Way is one of more than 100 managed sites across Denbighshire, but residents are unhappy about the perceived lack of communication from the council, and the deprivation of the greenspace.

One resident, Keith Humphries, said he and others “want our field back”.

He said: “This piece of land had been a designated play area for 35years. It is a safe environment for children and pet owners.

“At first, DCC agreed to give half of the field back as a public space, but then changed their minds and have now offered one-third, which is not acceptable to us.

“The play area at Fern Way is the only area, to my knowledge, that has totally been taken away, unlike other areas that have only lost one-third of area."

The wildflower meadow at Fern Way, Rhyl (Image: Cllr Brian Jones)

Another resident, who asked not to be named, labelled the site an “eyesore”.

The resident added that those living in the area “didn’t get any correspondence notifying them of this” from DCC.

“Nobody knew this was going to happen,” the resident said.

“DCC and its biodiversity team allocated the full field for bees, initially.

“There is nowhere to play with dogs at the plot of land. Kids used to play there, and elderly residents used to take dogs for a walk and sit on bench.

“In really hot weather, you could take dogs there and sit under the shaded trees on the grass, but you can’t now, as you cant see what’s on the grass.

“Dog walkers have stopped picking up dog poo as the grass is too long, and if you take your eye off your dog, you can’t find it to pick it up.

“When you go to other meadows nearby, it’s a three-quarters public, one-quarter bees share, but not here. It’s an eyesore. This has been going on for about six weeks.”

Cllr Brian Jones, who represents the Rhyl Ty Newydd ward (in which the site is situated) for DCC, urged the local authority to compromise its plans for the land to appease the residents.

He and representatives of DCC’s Countryside Services discussed the issues with residents at a meeting, where it became apparent to him that “very little consultation” had been carried out prior to the meadow being created.

“We had confirmation from DCC that they only sent out a handful of letters to a handful of residents, and didn’t get any response back from them - really, that’s a flaw in the process,” Cllr Jones said.

“If you don’t communicate with a larger audience, DCC are going to get what they’ve got now, which is a kick-back from residents.

“The area where they’ve created this wildflower meadow is bang in the middle of a housing estate.

“In the eyes of the residents, it was meant as a green space area with a bench, where elderly people can virtually step out of their front door and be in a green space, and sit on a bench, and young children have a green space to play in, and there’s a path through it where they can walk their dogs.

“I’m taking this further. I’m proposing to call it in to a DCC scrutiny meeting as soon as possible. There’s not a good feeling among residents about this. We’re going to fight it.”

Cllr Jones was lead member for waste, transport and environment when DCC’s climate change emergency was declared in July 2019.

He regained his seat as a county councillor in February.

“If they leave it as a wildflower meadow, it hasn’t been explained to me what difference that’ll make to the biodiversity emergency in Denbighshire,” he said.

“Will it solve the biodiversity crisis? I don’t think it will, and I’d be very keen to have the Biodiversity team at DCC explain that to me.

“The same thing has happened on our ward at Cherry Tree Walk, which just looks a mess.”

The wildflower meadow at Cherry Tree Walk, Rhyl (Image: Cllr Brian Jones)

Gareth Davies, MS for Vale of Clwyd, said he has been contacted by numerous residents from Rhyl and across his constituency about the use of wildflower meadows by DCC since his election in 2021.

Mr Davies has also raised the matter in the Senedd with the First Minister, Mark Drakeford.

He said: “What has been reported is the improper use of wildflower meadows, particularly in hot weather, where the land is dry, barren, and unkempt, which is neither conducive to the intention of enhancing the bee population, nor in the best interests of local residents in the area.

“If there are good-quality wildflowers and evidence of bee populations, then by all means keep them.

“But if there is not, and it is just being used as excuses by the council to not cut the lawn, then the council should be acting in the best interests of its residents.”

Likewise, James Davies, MP for Vale of Clwyd, stressed the need for a “common sense approach”.

Dr Davies added: “I am very keen to support efforts to improve biodiversity and recently had the pleasure of speaking to Alan Titchmarsh about how this can best be achieved.

“However, there needs to be a common sense approach, with buy-in from local people.  Sadly, we are not currently seeing this in Denbighshire.

“Grassed areas in residential communities were developed for aesthetic reasons and to allow exercise and play.

“With general agreement, some or parts of these can be managed to encourage attractive and biodiverse wildflower meadows, but we must be realistic as to the limits of what can be achieved, and avoid putting ideology ahead of common sense.

“DCC need to listen, take a step back and look at the bigger picture. There is no value in engaging in a dispute with residents for no tangible gain.”

Cllr Barry Mellor, DCC’s lead member for environment and transport, said the wildflower meadows project was launched to help safeguard and support nature’s recovery across Denbighshire.

One of six species in Wales, he said, is now at risk of extinction.

He said: “The former lead member (Cllr Jones) will be well aware, through his work with our climate and ecological change strategy and action plan, that this scheme is also vitally important for the preservation of our native wildflowers and insect population, which has been impacted by climate change - seeing more than 97 per cent of our wildflower meadows lost in the last 100 years.

“All of our wildflower meadows are playing their part in this, but they take time to establish and grow.

“What they can produce year on year, including a number of rare plants especially in our coastal areas, is important for making sure we can protect all the local species we have and grow this protection.

“As with other new, residential grassland sites, all residents who live immediately adjacent to Fern Way were contacted via letter to explain the change in management of the land and provide a contact should they have any questions.

“Local members are also contacted several times regarding any new wildflower meadow sites and the council received no objections to the inclusion of Fern Way.

“As a council, we are always happy to discuss any concerns with residents. Officers have carried out several visits to the site and have agreed to cut a larger area for ball games to be played, along with the cut area around benches.

“Our Streetscene colleagues will continue to monitor this area of land.”