WINNERSH residents fear they have become the borough’s “forgotten community”, after accusing the council of failing to maintain their estate.
People living in Grovelands Park are urging Wokingham Borough Council to take action after it allegedly left their community “like a tip”.
Tessa Harris, who lives on the mobile home site, said workers left rubbish strewn across the area after working on a series of temporary units.
In August, the council halted construction in the estate after it discovered asbestos. It was building 11 homes to house people in need, including children or vulnerable people.
“It’s an absolute mess and it’s embarrassing,” Ms Harris said. “They’ve left all the rubbish behind and we have to live with it.
“We are like the forgotten community and it’s not fair.”
According to Ms Harris, Wokingham Borough Council has made promises to take other steps to maintain the estate too – but they have not been fulfilled.
“As a landlord, they don’t do anything on our site to improve where we live,” the resident said. “I’ve been here five years and have been asking them to tidy the place and make it look more presentable.
“Now, for a year, they’ve never cut the grass on the main part of our green. It could be a lovely area for the children to go and play on but they can’t because it’s all overgrown.”
She alleged the council also promised to clear up a row of garages visible on the way into the site.
“It’s lots of little things that aren’t being done, but it leaves the area in a terrible state,” Ms Harris added.
“It’s not pleasant to live in and a lot of us don’t choose to live here — we have to. It feels like they don’t care about us.”
Cllr John Kaiser, executive member for finance and housing, said the council is aware of issues with the grass cutting contract across Wokingham borough this year.
“In July, [we] advised our contractors Tivoli Group Ltd that their performance must be improved,” he said. “Since then, we have seen improvements to the service, however we have made our contractors aware of these residents’ concerns and they have promised to investigate and ensure the areas are properly cleared.
He said over the summer, ground testing did find an element of asbestos in the Grovelands Park area too, but said only “small levels of low-risk asbestos” material was detected.
“We regard resident safety as very important and every precaution has been taken, including securing the area of the site and carrying out air tests which have confirmed there is no risk to residents,” he added.
“Work, which also includes upgrades to the sewage and draining systems which will benefit all residents living on the site, is due to start again shortly.
“Our contractors, Rollalong, will continue to monitor the situation and ensure there is no risk to residents or workers on the site.”
