fenland district council
Local PCSO invites residents to discuss any village problems
Residents of Fenland villages, including Doddington, are invited to discuss any concerns or problems with their local Police Community Support Officer next week.
PCSO Sally Mitchell will be on the Fenland District Council’s New Horizons Bus (pictured) on Tuesday, June 3.
The bus will first be in Wimblington, down Addison Road, between 9am and 11am, then in Doddington, down Manor Park Estate, between noon and 2pm and then finally in Benwick, down High Street, between 3pm and 5pm.
Letter: Fenland District Council asks whether action event needed to tackle dog fouling in Doddington
Dear DD,
Your article in the May edition of Doddington Doings has asked the question if more can be done in the fight against dog fouling. If volunteers of the community would like to come together for an action event in their chosen areas we will be happy to assist. This letter is to enquire if there are specific areas locally where dog fouling is of concern to the villagers and where a successful partnership approach that is already attracting attention elsewhere in Fenland may assist in changing the behaviour of your local dog owners.
Dog fouling is recognised as being a priority issue for many Fenland communities. As a result, Fenland District Council has been working with local Street Pride and In Bloom volunteers to identify community priority areas and incorporate these in to a high profile awareness campaign.
To highlight the impact that the minority of irresponsible dog owners have on local amenity, local volunteers have been out in the larger of Fenland’s open spaces spraying dog fouling with brightly coloured biodegradable paint. This is to raise awareness of the problem and for users of the open spaces to see clearly the effect dog fouling has on the enjoyment of these open spaces. The campaigns have seen impressive results in reducing the amount of dog fouling.
We have been approached by residents who have seen what is happening in FDC open spaces and would like us to hold similar events in their communities. These have taken place in March, Wisbech, Chatteris, Whittlesey, Parsons Drove and Newton.
Should the community want an awareness event to be held in Doddington please do not hesitate to contact me: 01354 654321.
Kind Regards,
Layna Warren, Street Scene Team Leader, Fenland District Council
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Does more need to be done to combat dog fouling in Doddington?
Dog owners refusing to pick up their dog’s waste continues to be a problem in Doddington, according to local residents.
One letter sent to the Doings highlights the problem down Wood Street, although other areas continue to have the same problem.
The letter states:
“I am sure, like me, there are plenty of people who are annoyed by some inconsiderate dog owners who do not pick up after their dog.
I live in Wood Street, and during a walk through the village I have to be constantly vigilant to avoid treading in dog waste. I am sure that all the parents of young children who walk from the school along Wood Street are fed up with their children walking in the mess.
Walking out at night also becomes more hazardous as you cannot see it unless you take a torch or walk in the road to avoid it.”
There are a number of signs affixed to lamp posts across the village warning of fines if caught not picking up dog waste, but they appear not to be much of a deterrent.
For example, the photo above is of the sign next to St Mary’s Church in Doddington. Less than 50 metres away, next to the church wall (as of April 19), are various examples of dog waste.
A community questionnaire last year confirmed that dog fouling remains a top concern for local residents in Doddington, along with speeding and littering.
Dog fouling is also a problem in nearby Chatteris, which last month had the park with the most dog waste versus three other local parks in March, Wisbech and Whittlesey.
Fenland District Council is said to be “taking the lead” on tackling the problem of dog fouling in Doddington, and has provided signs and dog waste bins around the village.
But the question remains: Does more need to be done? And if so, what?
Safety fence erected around Bavin and Bedford memorials
A new safety fence has been put up today around the two historically important memorials in Doddington churchyard that are scheduled to be dismantled as part of a safety programme by Fenland District Council.
The Bavin chapel memorial (left) and the Bedford memorial (right) both hold a significant place in Doddington churchyard, and news of the plan to lay them down has caused a stir in the village — including coverage in the Cambs Times and a message by BBC Cambridgeshire to its 11,600 followers on Twitter.
It is believed the safety fence was placed around the memorials on Saturday morning, and Doddington historian Dave Edwards told the Doings he is hopeful it’s a positive sign.
“I’m hoping this is to satisfy the immediate health and safety problem, and will give more time to sort out a permanent solution,” Edwards said.
“I’ve not seen a safety fence in Doddington churchyard before, but at least the prospect of imminent dismantling seems to have past.”
The Doings has contacted Fenland District Council about the safety fence and whether the memorial dismantling is on hold, and is awaiting a response.
The Bavin memorial has been an iconic part of Doddington Churchyard since Francis Bavin of Wimblington died in 1869. An item in the Cambs Times from 30 July 1954 describes the long-running legend surrounding it:
“Recently our representative was taken to a tombstone in the [Doddington] parish churchyard and was shown a perfect gooseberry bush growing from one of the old crevices of a tombstone erected over the vault of a Francis Bavin on the south-side of the churchyard. This particular tombstone is very well known to the older residents who remember a myth of their young days that if one ran round it several times strange noises could be heard!”
The memorial for William James Guthrie Bedford, who died in 1902, is significant because he was a founding member of The Royal Australian Army Medical Corps (RAAMC).
The Doings has contacted the RAAMC Association in Australia about the planned dismantling of the Bedford memorial.
– Tim Lince
Is Fenland District Council about to knock down one of Doddington’s most iconic memorials?
A new safety programme by Fenland District Council could see the imminent dismantling of one of the most iconic memorials in Doddington churchyard.
The ‘chapel’ memorial, believed to be of Francis Bavin of Hill House in Wimblington (died: 1869), is marked to be “laid down” unless any “interested parties of the deceased” contact the District Council.
Doddington historian Dave Edwards told the Doings that the memorial holds a particularly special place in the churchyard.
“Generations of Doddington children have been told if they run around this memorial so many times they will see a ghost!” he remarked.
Edwards said he believes Fenland District Council has been marking memorials across Doddington graveyard since around November last year, and extra memorials are being marked every couple of weeks. He added that he is unsure how long it is between a memorial being marked and then it being dismantled.
“Most of the headstones they have laid flat are from the 1920s and 1930s, but in recent weeks they have started on some Victorian memorials,” Edwards said.
Of particular concern is the way the memorial of the Wigginton family, who lived at Manor Farm in the 1850s and 1860s, was demolished recently.
The picture below shows the memorial before it was “laid down”:
And the Wigginton memorial today:
The iconic Bavin memorial was marked within the last fortnight, and it is currently unknown whether it will be “laid down” to the extent that the Wigginton memorial was.
Edwards added: “I would hope that some money could be found to make the Bavin memorial safe without dismantling it.”
Another memorial scheduled to be “laid down” in the near future is this one of Surgeon-Major William James Guthrie Bedford (died 1902):
Talking about William James Gutherie Bedford, Edwards explained: “In the 1870s, Britain decided that Australia was now in a position to defend itself and withdrew the British Army garrison.
“An Australian army was formed, initially consisting of a battery of artillery and a company of soldiers to defend it. They of course needed a medical officer and William James Gutherie Bedford became the first officer of what would become the Royal Australian Army Medical Corps.
“He held that position for several years and returned to England on his retirement, until his wife died. He remarried and they moved to Doddington – Coney House down Benwick Road – where he died a few years later.”
Bob Ollier, manager of Fenland District Council’s Parks & Open Spaces department, told the Doings that the safety programme is to ensure unstable memorials don’t fall and potentially injure or kill people.
“We welcome the public raising money to help fund the restoration of memorials, or alternatively contacting stonemasons or memorial restoration businesses — for example, we have used Kent Memorials in March for restorations in the area,” he said.
Regarding Doddington churchyard, Ollier admitted that memorials are laid down “fairly quickly” after being marked, usually within 24-48 hours.
If you want to contact Fenland District Council about the memorials scheduled to be laid down, you can phone (01354 654321), email (streetscene@fenland.gov.uk) or write a message on Facebook.
– Tim Lince
Doddington's Doings 
