An iconic Bath council property has been left with “rotting fences” and a bunch of upkeep points, a former mayor of the town has warned.
Jeff Manning retired from the council twenty years in the past however, on Thursday September 21, returned to the Guildhall to current a petition from residents of the Foxhill property, calling for higher communication from Bath and North East Somerset Council.
Mr Manning mentioned that the council had a “proud history” of building houses in Bath, however warned that there have been now many points on the Foxhill property. He mentioned: “Look now at the rotting fences laden with massively overgrown shrubs; at shabby unfinished paintwork; at the broken glass and mess left when crews empty the bins around the flats; at the weird reality of installing a new litter bin but not removing the overflowing dog poo bin right next to it.”
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He added that there was additionally a “total absence” of weed killing and highway sweeping. He warned that there was “an unclear division of responsibility” between what was a job for the council and what Curo ought to be doing.
Mr Manning, who was Mayor of Bath in 1995, mentioned: “In the old days, everything that mattered to a council tenant was a matter for the council. Full stop; dead simple. Now its often unclear who does what.”
He added that native folks did use the council’s ‘fix my street’ instrument for reporting points, however that higher communication from the council was wanted. He added: “We don’t simply need to complain; we wish to assist.
“We know you have been shafted by government funding cuts, and we understand it is not possible to go back in time. But please let us help you to make us feel better about our local services.”
Asked by councillor Joanna Wright concerning the psychological well being impacts of the dearth of providers for residents on Curo estates, Mr Manning mentioned they had been “significant.”
He added: “There are lots of people in Foxhill who have lived there since their houses were built and it was a proud and happy community. It still is in some parts but there are a lot of vulnerable people and they suffer from crime that goes on around the place occasionally.”
Council chief Kevin Guy invited Mr Manning to talk with him extra concerning the problem. Speaking after the assembly, Mr Manning mentioned: “What I want him to do is come around here and see the estate.”
The Foxhill property was constructed within the post-war interval. In 2018, plans by Curo to demolish and redevelop a big portion of the property — which had been opposed by the area people — were abandoned.
