Angus Council has been accused “inaction and ignorance” after a promise to clean up a beauty spot appears to have been broken.
Arbroath resident Ralph Coutts accused the local authority of paying lip service to people’s concerns six weeks after he raised issues about the state of a local beauty spot.
Mr Coutts raised the concerns in The Courier that St Vigeans Nature Trail in Arbroath has been slowly declining due to vandalism and neglect.
He put together a photo dossier which included damage to dog poo bins, graffiti on underpass walls, chicken wire on a walkway needing repaired, litter and debris in the burn, a sofa on the nature trail and overgrown grass.
At the end of May Angus Council thanked Mr Coutts for bringing these issues to its attention and stated “the services concerned have been informed.”
Mr Coutts said: “Six weeks have passed since the article in The Courier about the demise of St Vigeans.
“I am now accusing the council of paying lip service to people’s concerns and I’m calling for an independent audit to see how many people in Angus are happy with the ACCESSline service as I don’t think it’s fit for purpose.
“The only thing I can see they’ve fixed is the chicken wire to the decking paths but the vulgar graffiti remains in the underpass for children to see.
“There remains chairs at the outside classroom vandalised and trees are still blocking the river that need cut and taken out.
“There is also debris in the river that needs to be removed. The water is at its lowest level for years making it easy to clean.
“The council have the machinery to do this and we as taxpayers have paid for this.
“My message to the council is clear: Stop posturing and get on with it!”
Visitors are attracted to St Vigeans to walk the five-mile trail which joins the old railway trackbed.
The St Vigeans Nature Trail is lined with trees and shrubs that are home to birds and foxes.
It runs through predominantly open country and skirts by Letham Grange golf course and arrives at the remains of an old station.
The nature trail also includes the remains of an old wartime airfield in the form of hangars which are now used to store farm machinery and straw.
A council spokesperson said: “We are working to clear the vandalism on the trail as soon as possible.”