A ‘FURIOUS’ borough councillor has ‘had enough’ of vandalism and anti-social behaviour at communal areas of the Edison Place estate.
Coun Kieren Brown says he will not put up with any more damage and littering, and called on the developer responsible for the estate’s public spaces to do more.
The Newbold and Brownsover ward councillor also hit out at vandals who uprooted young saplings near the War Memorial off Technology Drive for the second time since December.
Coun Brown told The Observer: “This is totally unacceptable. It is meant to be a quiet place of reflection.
“To the people who are doing this, I would just say have some respect. We are all one community.”
He added he was fed up with rubbish being dumped at the site, and called on developer St Modwen Homes – which is currently responsible for maintaining communal areas at Edison Place until they are adopted by Rugby Borough Council (RBC) – to provide better service.
He said: “It’s good that St Modwen is beginning a clean up, but their customer service contact leaves a lot to be desired. It is not useful for me or the people who live there.
“I want St Modwen to provide better information on how they deal with maintenance issues in the public spaces. I will keep on at them to make sure the whole site remains clean and tidy.”
The issues were reported to Coun Brown by the Edison Place Community Group.
The group’s chair John Redpath said: “We want our area to be a close community, to take care of our local environment and ensure it is maintained and looked after.
“We have had problems with vandalism, rubbish and litter at our parks and it’s hard to get any immediate response from St Modwen.
“Because our area is still unadopted, we have to rely on St Modwen.”
St Modwen is currently responsible for the upkeep of public spaces at Edison Place under a planning agreement with RBC.
That agreement will come to an end after a 12-month maintenance period, which will begin when RBC is satisfied the estate’s play area and street furniture have been finished to agreed specifications.
That was not the case when the council inspected the site last October.
A spokesperson for St Modwen Homes said: “We share residents’ disappointment that some communal areas at Edison Place have recently been vandalised.
“We have taken measures to repair any items that have been damaged, and we will be replacing the tree saplings that have been removed.
“Work to finalise the communal areas, in order for Rugby Borough Council to adopt these areas, is currently underway.
“We would like to thank residents for their patience and understanding while these works take place, and assure them that we will continue to monitor the communal areas at the development.”
They added St Modwen would appoint a contractor to attend the communal areas in the ‘warmer months’.
As part of planning permission for the estate, St Modwen has contributed around £1.5million towards nearby educational facilities, highways and public transport improvements, facilities at Rugby Library, access improvements to the Black Path Bridge, and enhancements to the Avon Riverside.
