Clean-up calls for 'messy' town car park littered with overgrown hedges, weeds and graffiti

There are calls for a tidy-up at Gloucestershire car park as overgrown nettles and hedges obstruct dog bins, and benches, and sign posts. Lydney councillor Alan Preest has called on the Forest of Dean District Council to improve the maintenance of Newerne Street car park.

He says the situation has deteriorated in recent weeks despite being assured by council leaders in February that maintenance of the district’s car parks would improve. He says the messy car park and the graffiti on the neighbouring old Co-op do not give visitors a good impression of the market town.

Cllr Preest said: "When Forest of Dean District Council [voted] to increase car parking charges at the February budget meeting we were told that maintenance of the car - parks would improve. In reality, it’s gotten worse.

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"With the graffiti on the neighbouring old Co-op, and the mess in and around the car park, it hardly gives a good impression when visitors, let alone residents and local businesses, park there. You would certainly expect a local authority to take a little pride in their assets.

"Notwithstanding the political influence, surely the staff responsible would be aware of and act certainly when signage, lighting, grit bins, dog bins are obscured."

A Forest of Dean District Council spokesperson said the authority is committed to ensuring our communities and facilities are clean, safe and well maintained.

"The recent wet and warm sunny weather has meant that vegetation has grown faster than it normally would in previous years and the necessary maintenance will be carried out in due course," they said.

“We also want to protect our nature across the Forest and this means that we cut the hedgerow back twice a year to ensure that birds and other wildlife are not disturbed, particularly during nesting season which runs from March to October.

"We are currently looking at carrying out further maintenance at all Forest car parks, including re-painting of lines, adding new signage and carrying out general tidying and maintenance.”