Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Fears over safety of kids amid garden fence row
Beth Harrison, 26, has lived in a council house in Pentland Crescent with Millie, four, and Daisy, two, for three months.
Before she took on the tenancy with the local authority, she asked if a fence could be erected at the back garden.
She says she was assured by council chiefs that it would be.
But now she fears one of her young daughters will have to be injured before the fence — only half of which is built — is completed.
Beth, a student, said: “The back garden goes straight on to the road — there is no pavement and no fence.
“Because I have two little girls, I wanted to make sure that the garden was secure.
“Lots of lorries reverse up the street and sometimes their wheels come right into the garden.
“It wouldn’t be at all safe for me to let the girls out to play. About three weeks ago, the council workmen came and started to erect a fence but then stopped when it was only half built.”
She says she called the council to inquire about what was happening but was provided with no real explanation, adding: “It looks like one of my daughters has to be hurt before the council is prepared to do anything about it.
“Half a fence is no use at all and the garden remains completely open to the road and the traffic on it.
“As things are at the moment, I can’t possibly let my daughters out to play — it’s just not safe.
“If the girls are out in the garden, I need to stay with them at all times.”
The girls’ dad Robert Webster, 32, said the street outside their house was busy at all times of the day.
He added: “It’s just not safe for us to let the girls out on their own in the garden. I can’t understand why they built half a fence then left.”
West End councillor Fraser Macpherson, whose ward covers the Pentland area, said he sympathised with Beth’s concerns.
He added: “There’s an issue with lorries reversing in the street because they sometimes can’t use the turning circle if cars are parked in it.
“This is a safety issue and I understand why Beth is worried about letting her daughters play in the garden.
“I will take this up with the director of neighbourhood services and ask that something is done to make the garden safe.”
A spokesman for Dundee City Council said: “We will be speaking to the tenant directly to discuss this issue.”
A YOUNG mum today said her two children could get injured amid claims the city council only built half a fence outside her home.