State of overgrown parks and verges 'an embarrassment' - councillors say

Officials have faced a grilling from councillors over the state of overgrown play parks, verges and dirty streets, with members branding their condition as "embarrassing".

Members of the Great Yarmouth Borough Council scrutiny committee expressed their fury at a meeting this week, demanding more is done to improve the appearance of the coastal towns and villages.

It follows Great Yarmouth Services (GYS), the council-owned company responsible for grass-cutting and street cleaning, admitting it was two weeks behind its maintenance schedule.

Weeds sprouting from the roadside on Clarkes Road, Gorleston. (Image: James Weeds)

Council officials and company bosses faced a volley of complaints, which includes play parks being "unusable" due to overgrown grass while other areas have been described as looking like a "heathland".

Carl Annison (R) with Councillor Katy Stenhouse (L) (Image: Submitted)

Carl Annison, Conservative councillor for Bradwell South, described the situation as an "absolute disgrace".

"All my emails are to do with this issue. I am totally embarrassed about it. It is a nightmare at Crab Lane, children could get lost in the grass."

Trevor Wainwright, leader of the Labour group at Great Yarmouth Borough Council (Image: Newsquest)

Trevor Wainwright, leader of the Labour group added: "No Mow May is a great initiative but it now appears to be 'no mow ever.'"

Angry neighbours have also been taking to social media in recent weeks to complain about the condition of the borough.

Chris Silverwood, managing director of GYS, explained that warmer temperatures and wet weather had led to the explosion of growth, which began two months earlier than normal this year.

Weeds growing on Fuller's Hill, Great Yarmouth. (Image: James Weeds)"It hardly sets a welcoming tone," he said.

He also said the company is struggling to recruit staff to fulfil the grass-cutting duties and senior roles and has blamed budget cuts for adding to the challenges.

"When I started as an apprentice gardener two decades ago we had 120 staff.

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Some areas have been left to 'rewild' in the borough (Image: Newsquest)

"Now we have 60 but still the same areas to cut. We can not give you a platinum service and the situation won't change with this current budget."

It was also noted that there had been a breakdown in communication between GYS and councillors, with members being unaware that some areas had been 'rewilded'.

The management of open spaces by GYS is also currently under review.