Ellison Withe, St Helens:

A copy of this letter has been sent to Jonathan Bacon, chair of St Helens parish council and Isle of Wight councillor for Brading and St Helens. 

I read with disdain the policy by St Helens Parish Council of now letting certain parts of the village green become wildflower meadows.

We are a tourist Island and this policy makes our village look very untidy and does not do the image of our beautiful village any benefits and makes it look like in my opinion just an unsightly mess and where the people of the village don’t care about the environment they live in.

In the village we have a lot of old people. The parish council need to be aware of the many different age groups who use the greens and benches surrounding the green.

Having areas of long grass attracts insects, midges and flies and is an area where dogs perform their bodily functions in.

It is also an attraction for young people who like playing in the long grass – not healthy.

So could the parish council please reverse the above decision which I’m sure was made in good faith being seen as good for the environment.

I’ve called my letter “Grassgate” which I think is a very good title for highlighting my concerns.