Several green areas in Fife could be left unkempt or overgrown if plans to challenge historic maintenance agreements are pursued, it has been claimed.
Fife Council has decided to look at the situation after it emerged it carries out more than £1.3 million worth of work each year on land not owned by the authority.
Many of these areas include large private housing estates where “in perpetuity” contracts were agreed with the council nearly 30 years ago.
Officials have agreed that the set-up is now “totally unsustainable” and have formed a dedicated cross-service team to challenge, renegotiate or, when agreements are not legally binding, terminate such contracts to ensure core streets and parks works are not compromised.
News of a new strategy has been welcomed by many, but Dunfermline South Liberal Democrat councillor James Calder is concerned it could negatively impact many communities.
He said: “The council cannot simply terminate a legally binding contract to maintain green areas of what is effectively parkland in many estates just because it is now inconvenient to maintain them.
“Many of these contracts were signed in perpetuity and while today we would expect factoring fees, it was a very different landscape decades ago.
“I know the council has been maintaining this type of land in areas of my own ward in Dunfermline South, including in Pitcorthie, Abbeyview and Pitreavie.
“Many of the residents are elderly or vulnerable and this could cause considerable stress.”
He claimed Dunfermline “is not receiving its fair share” and gets around £500,000 less than Kirkcaldy for its clear up budget.
Councillor Ross Vettraino, environment convener, admitted the council will look to renegotiate contracts that are flawed in the best interests of the community.
He said: “The maintenance of publicly owned open space will continue to be a priority in the eyes of the council as it re-organises its ground maintenance and street cleaning resources in the course of seeking to deliver the best possible service in these financially challenging times.”
Environment and building services senior manager John Rodigan added the council has no intention of breaching legally binding contracts but said there will be a move towards recovering costs and reviewing specifications for work carried out on all private land.
He said: “There will be significant local consultation in this process with all risks and mitigating actions considered.
“With reducing council budgets there has to be an understanding that the current investment in private land maintenance is not sustainable.
“Resources need to be deployed and focussed on improving the standards of street cleanliness and grounds maintenance in council-owned parks, streets and open spaces.”
