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A riverside beauty spot close to a scene immortalised by painter John Constable has been likened to ‘Glastonbury’ after being left blighted by litter-dropping tourists. The village of Dedham in Essex, just half mile from the iconic scene of Constable’s ‘The Hay Wain’, has seen an increasing number of tourists visiting during the recent hot weather.
Dedham Vale nature reserve is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, famous for its water meadows and the River Stour, painted by John Constable. The small village, which has a population of just 1,907, has been tarnished in recent weeks by tourists littering and engaging in ‘reckless behaviour’ during the heatwaves.
However Conservative Cllr Darius Laws has said something must be done to curb overflowing bins and cars parking on the green spaces. In a provocative video posted on social media on June 30, Cllr Laws said: “You’d be forgiven for thinking that I’m in Glastonbury. No, f*** that, left-wing, so-called green, hippies. No, I’m in Dedham.”
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The campaign video was accompanied by the social media tag line “you’d think there was a headline act performing” and calls on tourists to start “following the countryside code” and pick up litter. In the video, councillor Thomas Rowe also adds: “Just remember, this isn’t a festival, it’s a village”.
Cllr Laws said: “Hopefully, it gives people the confidence to tell people to pick up their litter and act appropriately. The amount of rubbish and reckless behaviour we are seeing is really concerning.
“It looked like a mini-Glastonbury. Bins were overflowing, people had dumped empty crates of beer, vape wrappers had been dropped on the ground. We see people jumping off the bridge into very shallow water and they could so easily break their necks.
“This is a beautiful part of the country, and it’s not ok, it makes local wildlife sick and ruins nature. We do approach it in a friendly way because people may just be ignorant of the damage they’re causing.
“The video was provocative to get people’s attention and if people think twice then it’s worked. We live in a beautiful village in a beautiful part of the world. We’re welcome to visitors but they’ve got to be responsible.”
Last year, the Environment Agency said the water could contain “levels of sewage, faeces from livestock and pollution from farming or industry”.
Cllr Laws also believes the nearby sewage water treatment plant, plastic pollution and animal waste have contributed to the water becoming contaminated.
Colchester County Council said that they support the campaign and are calling on visitors to remove their waste.
