Council chiefs are to take formal action against a company they accuse of neglecting the green spaces around Perth housing developments.
The Greenbelt Group which claims to “help enhance the natural beauty” of the environments it manages is said to have ignored months of entreaties to up its game.
The firm is responsible for green space, trees and bushes on the city’s Glasgow Road and Cornhill Road and for a playpark in the latter area.
It was engaged by housing developers to maintain those areas following completion of building work on the sites, rather than relying upon council manpower.
In recent months, however, the group has come under fire from local councillors who believe it is neglecting its responsibilities.
Perth South Liberal Democrat councillor Willie Wilson has persuaded the Perth and Kinross Council roads service to take formal action against the Greenbelt Group.
He said: “This has become a regular problem at Cornhill and on Glasgow Road. The Greenbelt Group is responsible for maintaining these areas and it has singularly failed to do so, despite a number of reminders from councillors, myself included.
“I have now persuaded the roads service to take formal action under the Roads Act to force the Greenbelt Group to cut back the offending vegetation at both locations.
“This is action that local residents have been calling for as the trees and bushes have been allowed to cover well over half the pavement in some places.
“This is potentially dangerous and acts as a hazard to pedestrians, who may ultimately be forced to step into the road.
“At Cornhill, the playpark is also a disgrace. It is now in need of a major tidy-up, including the cutting of grass and bushes and the maintenance of play equipment and seats,” added Mr Wilson.
A spokeswoman for Perth and Kinross Council said: “We will be contacting the company directly”.
A Greenbelt spokesperson said the company took local residents’ concerns seriously, but stressed that routine maintenance had been carried out at the two sites.
He said Mr Wilson had been in touch on one occasion, but claimed he had failed to respond to inquiries seeking further information about his concerns.
The spokesman added: “It should be noted that local residents do not contribute financially to the upkeep of these areas.
“They are maintained entirely at Greenbelt’s own expense and we believe that all our green space areas are maintained to a stringent and high quality schedule.”