ANOTHER local resident has joined the call for something to be done to tidy up the Dairy Crest (United Dairies) site behind the Tesco Express store in Anstey Lane. Ray Baker is concerned, not just about the environmental impact of escalating rubbish on the site, but that it presents a significant fire risk close to residential properties. Overgrown, with holes in the fencing to allow easy trespass, the site is an eyesore which, locals believe, should be given over for redevelopment. A "For Sale" notice on the site is actually inviting offers, but it has been there for almost three years and there is still no sign of movement. And this despite confirmation from Dairy Crest property department spokesman Andrew Tonkin that the idea was to develop the site sometime in the future. Mr Tonkin also assured The Herald that contractors working on behalf of Dairy Crest had been detailed to tidy up the site and make it secure and he was surprised that this had not already happened. Mr Baker's concerns follow hard on the heels of a meeting, set up by deputy town clerk Greg Burt, to discuss the dairy site and the adjacent alleyway which links Anstey Lane with Dove Court and Robin Close. Although the path is now being kept cleaner, it is still dogged by graffiti and is overgrown making it almost impossible to passfor people with prams and wheelchairs. It is also becoming known as a "no go area" after dark The meeting sought to highlight a number of local concerns including health and safety issues surrounding the site, including disrepair of the buildings, insecure fencing and the build-up of rubbish which some residents believe is attracting rats to the area and which is becoming an eyesore. There were concerns expressed too about the poor lighting of the alleyway, particularly in view of two assaults on people using the footpath, about noise and abuse from young people congregating in the vicinity of Tesco Express, which some believe opens too long and encourages loitering.
