Latest news with #AnnaWatson
ABC News
24-05-2025
- General
- ABC News
Dapto Dogs to stop running after nearly 90 years as showground owners end lease
It is the end of an era for the iconic Dapto Dogs as the local show society prepares to wrap up racing at the venue by the end of June next year. Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW) chief executive officer Steve Griffin said it was an unfortunate decision. "Very sad for the industry and for us. We are a little bit shocked and surprised. We had hoped that we were going to get a 20-year extension but the society has decided to go in another direction." GRNSW had been in negotiations Dapto Agricultural and Horticultural Society for some time over rent and facility upgrades, including relocating the kennel block to the western part of the precinct. Mr Griffin had visited the site just last week to inspect the proposed areas. The news was shared with GRNSW on Friday night. Racing started at the track on February 25, 1937. Mr Griffin said people will be "grieving for the loss of the icon from the sport". "Obviously there will be some people who will be hurting because this has been their home track for their lifetime and probably their forbearers before them. Close to 100 trainers trial their dogs at the track each week. Two full time and four part time staff will be offered opportunities at the Bulli and Nowra tracks. GRNSW has a parcel of land at nearby Bong Bong Road and will continue to explore opportunities — but it would involve significant work to determine if it would be suitable for a straight track. Shellharbour state MP Anna Watson said the decision was sad but she is glad it was not acrimonious. "It is a big parcel of land. It is community. It presents a great opportunity to see what comes from the Dapto Agricultural and Horticultural Society in the future," she said. Ms Watson said she looked forward to seeing how GRNSW progressed the Bong Bong Road site. The Dapto Agricultural and Horticultural Society has been contacted for comment.
BBC News
30-03-2025
- BBC News
CCTV behind a sharp rise in fines for littering in Bradford
CCTV cameras have been used to crack down on people littering across Bradford, with nearly 2,300 fines issued to people throwing rubbish from their cars in the last 40 cameras have been installed at 18 locations across the city, resulting in 2,293 fixed penalty notices being dropping takeaway packaging and food from their cars is a "persistent issue", councillors were told at a meeting of Bradford Council's regeneration and environment scrutiny committee.A report for members added: "The implementation of litter enforcement cameras has been instrumental in addressing littering from vehicles." According to the report, Bradford is the only city in Yorkshire to have enforced litter-from-vehicle April 2024, the council has issued 2,293 fines – up from 1,750 in 2023/24 and 657 in 2022/ Democracy Reporting Service, the 39 cameras are in the city centre, Bowling and Barkerend, Little Horton, Manningham, Toller ward and Windhill and councillor Anna Watson said: "The big issue is in areas [where] people go to for takeaways."For some reason people think it is a good idea to chuck everything out of their car window when they are parked up and have finished their food."The council report said: "The cost of clearing this litter places a financial burden on the council, diverting resources from other essential services. "By addressing takeaway litter and encouraging responsible disposal, the council can reduce these clearance costs, resulting in potential savings that can be reinvested into other projects and services." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Council to reduce grass cutting for 'biodiversity'
A council has said it will extend a "no mow" policy in its parks and public grassland areas beyond a month this summer. Bradford Council takes part in the No Mow May campaign, which encourages wildflower growth in urban areas to attract insects and other species. Councillors have now been told that the scheme will be expanded past May despite there being "mixed" opinions on the issue. When the BBC spoke to park users, some pointed out that it had become difficult for children to play sports in areas that had become overgrown. Green Party councillor Anna Watson, who sits on the cross-party environment panel that has been discussing the plans, said: "It's about understanding how to create areas which work for people and nature at the same time." Bradford Council declared a "biodiversity emergency" in July 2023 and stated its intention to "make our neighbourhoods and green spaces more nature-friendly". As a result, 190,000 sq.m of grass was left uncut last year. However the authority also faced criticism on the issue - after claims the "one size fits all" approach was causing problems in areas where children play. The BBC spoke to families and dog walkers at Northcliffe Park in Shipley, one of the main test sites for the "no-mow" approach, where several grassed areas were left uncut. The park now has a flourishing meadow where baby deer have been among the recent sightings, but there were still some concerns. Leah Dever, out walking with pet dog Goose, said embracing the no-mow principle was a "great idea" and it had increased wildlife significantly in the park. "I see the deer most mornings. I've seen owls, I've seen woodpeckers. There's so much wildlife in this park that I've never seen anywhere else. " Young father Luke Terry, out for a walk with his baby son Rowan and dog Millie, also saw benefits to the policy but stressed the need to accommodate different park users. "It's nice when it goes wild, yes, but in some places kids want to play sports, and getting the grass mowed would be good," he said. "We don't need pristine lawns everywhere, but I guess it just depends on the park and how people use it." Meanwhile, long-time local resident Andrew Roe was very cautious about any expansion. "Not cutting it doesn't make it viable for families," he said. "This is a family park. The birds and bees have got plenty of space in other areas." He also feared the policy could set a precedent for a reduction in park maintenance. A council report into No Mow May admitted "there are differing opinions" on its value and success in Bradford. Its regeneration and environment scrutiny committee was told on Tuesday that in the future there would likely be a greater focus on permanently "naturalising" certain areas of parks, rather than letting grass grow for one month of the year. The report said: "The council recognise it does pose some difficulties - equipment can often struggle with cutting such long grass and areas are left looking untidy following the cut due to the length of the grass. "This can cause complaints from local residents. "Following careful consideration, we have amended our No Mow May sites for 2025 and where possible, will install visible signage explaining about No Mow May in the areas we are leaving to naturalise for the month." The report also stated that maintenance costs had increased in part because of older machinery that needed to be replaced. Views expressed by councillors included that explanatory signage needed to be installed and that people had complained about hayfever and the number of flies when the grass was longer. The authority's principal parks and green spaces development manager, Mark Priestley, said: "To many, No Mow May seems an excuse for councils to not mow the grass. "We'd like to move away from No Mow May to a wider no-mow policy - building up biodiversity in particular sites. That is better than just not cutting grass for a month." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering by emailing yorkshirestories@ Council reviews No Mow May scheme after criticism No Mow May dubbed 'money-saving' scheme Grass left to grow to help bees and butterflies
BBC News
30-01-2025
- General
- BBC News
Grass cutting in Bradford parks set to be reduced
A council has said it will extend a "no mow" policy in its parks and public grassland areas beyond a month this Council takes part in the No Mow May campaign, which encourages wildflower growth in urban areas to attract insects and other have now been told that the scheme will be expanded past May despite there being "mixed" opinions on the the BBC spoke to park users, some pointed out that it had become difficult for children to play sports in areas that had become overgrown. Green Party councillor Anna Watson, who sits on the cross-party environment panel that has been discussing the plans, said: "It's about understanding how to create areas which work for people and nature at the same time."Bradford Council declared a "biodiversity emergency" in July 2023 and stated its intention to "make our neighbourhoods and green spaces more nature-friendly".As a result, 190,000 sq.m of grass was left uncut last the authority also faced criticism on the issue - after claims the "one size fits all" approach was causing problems in areas where children BBC spoke to families and dog walkers at Northcliffe Park in Shipley, one of the main test sites for the "no-mow" approach, where several grassed areas were left park now has a flourishing meadow where baby deer have been among the recent sightings, but there were still some Dever, out walking with pet dog Goose, said embracing the no-mow principle was a "great idea" and it had increased wildlife significantly in the park."I see the deer most mornings. I've seen owls, I've seen woodpeckers. There's so much wildlife in this park that I've never seen anywhere else. " Young father Luke Terry, out for a walk with his baby son Rowan and dog Millie, also saw benefits to the policy but stressed the need to accommodate different park users."It's nice when it goes wild, yes, but in some places kids want to play sports, and getting the grass mowed would be good," he said. "We don't need pristine lawns everywhere, but I guess it just depends on the park and how people use it."Meanwhile, long-time local resident Andrew Roe was very cautious about any expansion."Not cutting it doesn't make it viable for families," he said. "This is a family park. The birds and bees have got plenty of space in other areas."He also feared the policy could set a precedent for a reduction in park maintenance. A council report into No Mow May admitted "there are differing opinions" on its value and success in regeneration and environment scrutiny committee was told on Tuesday that in the future there would likely be a greater focus on permanently "naturalising" certain areas of parks, rather than letting grass grow for one month of the report said: "The council recognise it does pose some difficulties - equipment can often struggle with cutting such long grass and areas are left looking untidy following the cut due to the length of the grass."This can cause complaints from local residents."Following careful consideration, we have amended our No Mow May sites for 2025 and where possible, will install visible signage explaining about No Mow May in the areas we are leaving to naturalise for the month."The report also stated that maintenance costs had increased in part because of older machinery that needed to be expressed by councillors included that explanatory signage needed to be installed and that people had complained about hayfever and the number of flies when the grass was authority's principal parks and green spaces development manager, Mark Priestley, said: "To many, No Mow May seems an excuse for councils to not mow the grass. "We'd like to move away from No Mow May to a wider no-mow policy - building up biodiversity in particular sites. That is better than just not cutting grass for a month."Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering by emailing yorkshirestories@
