In May, Cllr Robert MacNaughton was elected Mayor of Calne.
As well as being our new mayor, Robert is an active member of Friends of the River Marden and campaigns relentlessly to improve the health of our river and reduce pollution. In this new column Robert will update us monthly with news from his mayoral year.
June 2023
'I was elected Mayor of Calne exactly one month ago. It has taken me time to adjust to both the honour, and responsibility of the role. One of the previous employees of Calne Town Council told me that the mayor has to be a leader, and an advocate for the town, and its community groups.
As some of you might know I feel passionately about our river, the Marden, and am angry at the pollution which is poured into her. Wessex Water’s figures for 2022 show that there were 72 hours of sewage discharge at Quemerford Bridge, and 331 hours from the sewage farm upstream from Hazeland. The figures that I have seen don’t indicate the difference between treated and untreated sewage, but the strands of toilet paper hanging from low tree branches over the river after high rain fall tell the story. For me there should be no discharge of poo, treated or untreated into our Rivers; absolutely none.
What can we do about the poo, the fertiliser and weed killer farming run off that pollutes our rivers, both locally and nationally? My starting point is that rivers are living beings. We must look after them as we look after our own bodies. If they die, we die. Without water, life can’t exist.
A couple of weeks ago, with Jeremy, a colleague from the Friends of the Marden Valley, we started to install a litter boom in Castlefields Park. I managed to stay upright, despite having a fantasy of falling over, and floating down the River with my feet in the air.
We held our second River Festival on the Spring Equinox this year. Our river was blessed by both Bishop Andrew of Ramsbury, and Kate the Shaman. Something quite extraordinary happened that day, as if the river was pleased we were were showing her some love. I know not many people will believe me, but I feel our rivers need attention in the same way our bodies do. Say 'hi' when you walk down by the Marden in Castlefields Park.
One thing I have been doing as Mayor is contacting the river people in other towns asking them what they were doing to help their local river. I gave a talk to the Rivers Trust group in Malmesbury, and asked the Cabinet member for Rivers, among other things, in Bath, whether he would think of organising a river festival in the park next to the Avon at Poultney Bridge. He said he would.
BART, the Bristol Avon Rivers Trust, are holding a river testing programme across their catchment area from the 7th to the 14th July. They are testing for both phosphates, add nitrates which indicate the health or otherwise of our River. Would you like to join us in testing the Marden?
Further details and sign up are available at this link https://bristolavonriverstrust.org/riverblitz/register
