Complaints have resurfaced over Perth’s Lade, with a councillor describing it as “a disgrace”.
The Lade has been a problem for years in the city, with scores of attempts made to clean it up as it is often filled with rubbish and sometimes even shopping trolleys.
Perth and Kinross Council say they are attempting to keep on top of matters, but Councillor Callum Gillies, one of the representatives of the Perth City North ward, told The Courier he feels more effort is required to improve things, and highlighted how it can be an asset to the city.
“The Lade is a mess it is overgrown, with dog mess everywhere,” he said.
“From the retail park up to Crieff Road it is a disgrace. We are not putting in the effort we should.”
He continued: “The litter in the lade is unbelievably bad. The Lade would be an asset to Perth if it was kept clean.
“We do have a Lade group, but it has fallen a bit by the wayside.
“We need public support. They should write to the council to say that the situation isn’t acceptable.”
Mr Gillies said he would continue to press for more action to be taken by the council’s environment department.
Part of the Lade also runs through the ward of Councillor John Flynn, who said he remembered that many years ago the Lade was closed down to allow cleaning, but this does not happen anymore.
“Quite honestly the Lade could be a nice place to go and walk, but there is debris in it and the place is scattered with dog poo,” he said.
“It should be an asset to Perth, not an eyesore. I will push for something to be done.”
Perth man Eddie Murie contacted The Courier to express his concerns over the Lade especially the part that runs from St Catharine’s Road to Viewfield Place.
“The council is not interested in keeping it rubbish free and it also recently cleared overgrown stubs that contained nesting ducks,” he said.
“It’s really disgusting.”
However, a spokesperson for Perth and Kinross Council said that “ensuring” that public footways and community green spaces are “well-maintained, safe to access and smartly presented” is a “priority” for the local authority.
She said: “Maintenance is carried out on Perth Lade regularly throughout the year, including weekly sweeping to clean footways and remove dog litter, seasonal hedge trimming and pruning of vegetation to allow new growth and the removal of silt to reduce the risk of flooding when necessary.
“Recent pruning between St Catherine’s Road and Viewfield Place has revealed a build-up of litter from passersby that had been thrown into the bushes, and we will collect this litter in the coming weeks as part of our litter picking duties.
“Active nests are not disturbed during maintenance work.”