Call for action on neighbourhood neglect

Westfield Liberal Democrat councillor Andrew Waller is calling on the council’s Labour administration to take action to cut back hedges in communal areas which are blocking residents’ ability to get to and from their own homes.

A number of blocks of flats in the Ascot Way area have communal hedges which give tenants privacy and enhance the local street scene. But in a repeat of problems experienced last year, the council has struggled to keep on top of basic maintenance, leading to some hedges becoming overgrown to the extent that residents are unable to leave their homes without having to fight their way through a hedge, getting wet in the process if it has been raining. This is even more of a problem for residents who are reliant on a mobility scooter. 

A lack of regular maintenance is also affecting residents elsewhere in Westfield ward. In nearby Lowfields Drive, tenants are struggling to be able to use a communal drying area due to it being choked with weeds. 

Despite both issues having been reported for action, there is no sign of progress. 

Cllr Andrew Waller said “Tenants have a right to expect that the council will maintain communal areas to a decent standard, but this simply isn’t happening. And residents who have bought their council home and are paying a service charge to the council are asking what is happening.

“One tenant who contacted me has mobility problems and the overgrown hedges are a real issue for them. It is no wonder that in the most recent tenants’ satisfaction survey, only 44% of residents were satisfied their communal areas are kept clean and well maintained. 

“Frontline council staff do a fantastic job in difficult circumstances, but there is only so much they can do as there are too few of them. I’m happy to get my garden shears out and do what I can, as I did last year, but it’s no substitute for a regular cycle of maintenance of communal areas.” 

Cllr Waller has also called on the council to be more transparent in the way it spends estate improvement funding. In previous years, tenants and councillors have been able to work together to decide how this budget can best be spent, but it has now come to light that in 2024/25, the Labour administration spent only £100,000 of the funds available, and all of the money was spent in just one ward, Holgate.

“Westfield has the highest number of council homes in the city, so it is disappointing to learn that last year none of the Housing Environmental Improvement Programme funds were spent in the ward,” Cllr Waller added. “There seems to have been a ‘behind closed doors’ decision to invest £100,000 in just one ward, with £75,000 siphoned off for the ‘neighbourhood caretaker’ initiative and £157,000 left entirely unspent. I’m pleased that tenants in Holgate ward have benefited from investment in their area, but tenants in Westfield and across the city deserve much better treatment than this.”