Runaway rabbits, semi-naked footballers and even goose droppings were among causes for complaint in Greater Manchester parks last year.
A raft of angry letters, emails and phone calls sent to town hall chiefs about some of the region’s most popular beauty spots have been unearthed.
In total, 235 complaints were received by Manchester, Tameside, Salford, Rochdale and Wigan councils.
They included one from a woman who slipped over in mud at a funfair ride in Heaton Park in August.
Others involved:
- Football teams changing in full public view in Oxford Park, Ashton- under-Lyne;
- A pet rabbit seen running across Hyde Park in September;
- A warden allegedly spotted snoozing in a van in a Wigan park;
- Goose muck seen in Platt Fields Park;
- A warden in Alexandra Park, Whalley Range, reported for not wearing a name badge.
The proposed closure of the cafe and tea rooms at Heaton and Wythenshawe parks also prompted complaints. And there was also a complaint about a park bench being removed from Birchfields Park in Rusholme. But other complaints were about more serious issues.
Syringes were found in a sandpit in Tameside and there were complaints to every council about litter and graffiti.
The Beech Road Festival, held in Chorlton’s Beech Road Park in July, prompted dozens of complaints about anti-social behaviour. Crowds of around 10,000 turned up and there were complaints of groups of youths drinking, fighting and leaving the area strewn with litter and debris.
Mike Amesbury, Manchester council’s executive member for culture and leisure, said: "Our parks are regularly visited by tens of thousands of people from across the region who use them to enjoy a wide range of activities. They have also received official recognition – Manchester has more parks with Green Flags than any other council area in the country, while many of them have also been designated as local nature reserves.
"It’s inevitable that with so many visitors, we will receive a handful of complaints, many of which have been dealt with by myself and my city council colleagues over the last year. However, the vast majority of park visitors appreciate having such good access to these excellent open air facilities."
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Some people live mundane lives, not really knowing any better then 10 foot in front of their eyes and wearing blinkers. Get a life, please!
im not quite sure what the point of this artilce is.
Many public services advertise their complaints procedures and view them as a way to improve services
when you invite feedback you cant complain aboiut the nature of the complaints you recieve..
if someone goes to the trouble to complain about something then they must have thought it important..
quoting the nature of the complaints without any context isnt good form, do you want to deter people from complaining for fear of ridicule?
Care to put the goose droppings complaint(s) into proper context, Pamela?
Is it not feasible that animal droppings that are present in a public space *could* be a cause of complaint in some circumstances?
Hello. Is that the council? Could I have a life please?
It's true though; there is goose-poop all around the lake in Platt Fields Park. It's gross.
I'd rather have goose poo than the filthy debris left from takeaways etc !!!!!!!
I bet the people who complain about goose poo are the same people who are too thick to read the signs asking people not to feed bread to the birds, which is what causes the geese to poo so much!
What is the point of this article? The headline seems to make fun of the complaints made by members of the pubic to the councils. I wouldn't be happy being confronted by men getting undressed to change into their football kits when I'm out for a walk. If I seen a pet rabbit running around, I'd report seeing it as that rabbit has a owner who is probably looking for it.
To quote Wikipedia "In recent years, Canada Geese populations in some areas have grown substantially, so much so that many consider them pests (for their droppings, the bacteria in their droppings, noise and confrontational behavior). This problem is partially due to the removal of natural predators and an abundance of safe, man-made bodies of water (such as on golf courses, public parks and beaches, and in planned communities).".
In Platt Fields this is a problem, and both the park management and the Friends of Platt Fields are very conscious of it. The Friends in particular have worked on signage to ask park users not to feed the geese, since that does exacerbate the problem, as well as making the lake more prone to algae problems in the summer. But short of a cull, which could be pretty unpopular, there's not much else you can do. Maybe we could introduce predators....tigers in Platt Fields?
Canada Geese deposit kilo of poo per day, so please take notice of our signs round lake at Platt Fields. This is partly why we keep having blue green algae each year in lake, as all that poo adds to nutrient levels in water. All being well, we start making our Barley Straw 'sausages' next month ready to put in lake - Barley straw helps keep levels of algae down.
As for Tigers in Platt Fields.................now that would be a new one to add to our list of new arrivals!
Come to our Once A Month Volunteer sessions 3rd Sunday of month 1-4pm and have fun making the sausages and then putting them in lake every few months www.plattfields.org for more info