GROWING WILD
Lack of grass cutting and maintenance is a‘disgrace’
MARK PIRIE
A Calderwood woman has slammed South Lanarkshire Council for leaving the grass near her home to grow above knee height.
Roslin Burnett called the Mannering area “a disgrace,” claiming that it had not been cut in over a year.
She said she has complained to the council annually, and that is the only time when they come out to deal with the problem patches.
Roslin has likened sections of Calderwood to Chernobyl, after the area has been snubbed for so long.
“The council only ever come and cut the grass if I make a complaint about it,” she told the News.“The weeds are up to knee height. It’s not right that they just ignore this area. I’ve got fly-tipping next to me as well. There is a full double mattress and it never gets cleared up.
“I’ve sent in a complaint to South Lanarkshire Council, but I know these things take time to sort. It shouldn’t just be when I complain that it gets sorted. They haven’t come out to cut the grass in a year at least.
“The park is a total disaster as well. The kids can’t use it because it’s so bad. It’s been left for so long, nobody cares about this area.
“When they finally come out and do it they will leave all the cut grass as well. There is so much of it because of the length of it they will need to get rid of that as well.
“They need to come out and start regularly looking after this area. It’s not just this street. There are plenty of places around here that have been left like this.”
Alistair McKinnon, Head of Facilities, Waste and Grounds Services, said: “Grass has been cut in the Calderwood area according to the normal frequency and specifications and this will continue on a programmed basis until the end of the growing season.
“The council’s Grounds Services officers inspected land in the Mannering area in response to information from a resident concerning a grounds maintenance issue, and found some weeds to be growing up through a number of the slabbed paths and hardstand areas throughout this development.
“As a result they arranged for the weeds and vegetation to be cleared away, and this will be followed up with a programmed application of herbicide to all of the public footpaths throughout this development.
“There will also be a routine secondary programme of herbicide treatment towards the end of this growing season.”