Popular river site 'a village not a festival'

An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is being treated more like a "festival" and not a place that deserves "special attention", a councillor has said.

Darius Laws, a Conservative councillor on Colchester City Council, lives by the River Stour, in the Dedham Vale, and is urging people to be "responsible" when they visit the area.

He said crowds flocked to the waterway on the Essex-Suffolk border, immortalised by painter John Constable, and there was an increase in issues including litter and bad parking around the village of Dedham.

"Don't go into the local shops with hardly any clothes on," he said. "It's a village where people live all year round. It isn't a festival it's a village."

The river has seen an increase in visitors partly because of the rise of stand up paddleboards and inflatable kayaks.

But Laws said "a minority of people" were not treating the area with the respect they should, as first reported by the Daily Gazette.

"When the bins are overwhelmed, people think it's alright to leave the rubbish next to the bins, but if you have a gust of wind it goes into the river and animals can come along and eat discarded food waste, and can become ill," he said.

Laws also said people might not be aware how close the river is to a sewage treatment works, with recent cases of illnesses including Weil's disease.

Laws continued: "We need everyone to take responsibility for their footprint, if the bins are overwhelmed, then please take your excess litter home.

"I'm worried the natural landscape is being challenged by a minority of people who aren't being as respectful as they could be. They think it's OK to have the odd disposable BBQ, it's a place of beauty, we want to keep it that way.

"We welcome visitors, but they need to be responsible."

John Ward, the independent leader for Barbergh District Council, said the number of visitors had "rapidly increased" since the Covid-19 lockdowns and "every year people were flocking to the area".

"We're doing the best we can to try and manage the problem, we're talking to local councils, police and have installed double yellow lines to enforce parking," he said.

Ward says the landowner is "doing his best" and clears up litter, has installed portable toilets and has allowed cars to park on his field at certain times of the year to "help with traffic management".

"You're welcome to enjoy the beautiful Stour Valley, but we can't get to the litter every night, we don't have the staff to do it as often as we can," he said.

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