I AM writing in response to a letter and photo sent in by John Lang featured in the SNJ (Wednesday, April 20) with reference to an overflowing dog bin at the Shortwood (referred to in his letter as Haresfield Beacon) car park.

I am the National Trust ranger responsible for managing Haresfield estate and I have to agree with Mr Lang that it is not something we want to see on our site. I would point out that there are three dog bins in the car park area, the one featured, another not more than 20 metres away and the third adjacent to Cotswold Way just inside Standish wood.

These are emptied twice a week, just before and after a weekend, by the council contractors with two further bins located next to parking areas alongside the boundary wall and lane.

The cost of installing the bins and paying for emptying are borne entirely by the National Trust which is obviously a significant financial commitment for a charity.

The receipts from the donation post so far, are nowhere near covering these costs let alone help pay for improvements to infrastructure on the estate, despite the very high level of usage by visitors.

Ideally I would suggest that if one of the bins is full please use another one or indeed bag your dog waste and take it home to dispose of it there. Managing a busy site like Haresfield estate provides many challenges and I will be more than happy to meet up with Mr Lang and the SNJ to discuss these in more detail should you wish.

I hope this has helped clarify the situation.

Tim Jenkins

National Trust Heart of the Cotswolds Area ranger (Haresfield Estate)