A Dunfermline man is running out of patience after campaigning for four years for Fife Council to maintain streets and green spaces near him.
Archie Frail, 67, says the council leaving is area around his home in Walls Place with overgrown trees, weeds and crumbling pavements.
“I just seem to be wasting my time,” he said.
“The council doesn’t seem to be doing anything. All they are saying is there is no money.”
Mr Frail said after the homes were built as social housing around 1970, residents paid a fee towards their upkeep.
He said that arrangement worked well but it was stopped some time ago.
“Fife Housing Group entered into an agreement with the council whereby the council did the maintenance but nobody told any of the residents that there was a change in the policy,” he said.
He said trees are now blocking out light from people’s homes and the roots are damaging walkways.
In addition, he said landscaped areas had become scruffy and weeds were taking over.
Shirley-Anne Somerville, SNP MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, said “Problems like this shouldn’t have been allowed to build up over many years in the first place.
“I welcome that the new convenor of the council’s environment committee, Ross Vettraino, has contacted the local resident’s spokesperson to discuss what can be done to improve the situation. But there is still more to do.
“Fife Council and Fife Housing Group have a responsibility to ensure that the public areas which they are responsible for are kept in good nick. I’ll be remaining in touch with the community in order to ensure that the estate receives the care it deserves.”
The council said a team would be sent in to “deep cleanse” the area.
John Rodigan, senior manager of environment and building services, said: “An asset management plan is being prepared for all trees across Fife. The plan will establish ongoing maintenance programmes and prioritise areas of more urgent need such as Walls Place.
“We continue to litter-pick the estate and will be deploying our new environmental action team to deep cleanse this area in the coming months.”
