A councillor called on retail giant M&S to weed out a plant problem plaguing its Nantwich store.
Nantwich Town Cllr Andrew Martin says unsightly weeds are turning Beam Street “Simply Food” store into an eyesore as the town prepares to welcome Britain in Bloom judges.
“Some of the weeds are around four foot high,” said Cllr Martin, pictured by the store.
“This is very disappointing considering this is a new store.
“A lot of work is being put in by local people into the town’s entry in Britain in Bloom, and I would not like to see anything jeopardise these efforts.”
Cllr Martin, who represents Nantwich South and Stapeley on Cheshire East Council, says he has been in touch with the company.
Judges for North West in Bloom are due to visit the town on July 17, with judging on July 24.
A spokeswoman for M&S said they had been in touch with the property owners to resolve the problems.
“We share the concerns of residents and continue to liaise with the property owner regarding the long-term upkeep of the garden,” she added.
“In the interim, the team at M&S will invest immediately in the maintenance of the area.”
The 9,000 sq ft M&S store opened in April last year, creating 60 new jobs for the area. It also has a cafe and in-store bakery.
Graham Dillon, I’m assuming that you’re comments re laziness & lack of community spirit are directed at M&S and not the residents of the area on question. Those ‘lazy’ residents that you refer to pay around £2500 in council tax for the privilege of having their bins emptied once a fortnight & their grass in public land cut once a year! “The community” do act together & maintain the areas in question as it is clear that Cheshire East do not care. Social Experiment: those ‘lazy’ residents withhold a proportion of their council tax; how quickly would we see the area in question maintained????
Hmm, Update on Marks and Spencer food outlet seems there will be a gardener arriving this week to tackle the eyesore, about time too, epic fail with management there that this was not picked up earlier.
To the amusing irate member of Massey Close, I will say two things, 1/ I doubt you actually pay £2,500 community charge as some of the houses there are around £350k only. Hardly the price to empty a bin, get real, the money if for all sorts of local services.
And 2/ Yes it is fair to call householders lazy if they allow their street to look a mess, either do it yourselves and save the earache, or lobby the council, good luck with that!!!
To be fair the builders should really have put into operation a grounds maintenance contract when the houses were sold, to prevent this problem of neglected communal areas, lots of new builds have this all the time. Each householder pays a share to save them the bother of gardening, or more importantly leaving the task to some kind natured neighbour.
If there is a weed in your gutter, deal with it pet, don’t whine, you are not the only resident of this estate to be let down, use your eyes!!
Hi Councillor Martin. I live on Stapeley, in a Bovis home. I live opposite a wooden bridge and every year I have to trim back the nettles and brambles that grow across it as no one else does. Bovis and the Council don’t accept responsibility and maintain it properly. Opposite my house is a community green. Please come and visit, its on Massey Close, the weeds are almost as tall as me in places. Its all very well to pretend we have a picture perfect town while beyond the town centre effective action is not taken by the Council. Please don’t respond by saying it’s not Council responsibility – I have lived in this house for 8 years, it is 10 years old – the Council should have this sorted with Bovis by now. Very “pot and Kettle” if you ask me.
I would think that you could group together with neighbours and tackle the area yourselves. These areas are actually designed to resemble wild areas of land in the countryside, they should be full of brambles and weeds,a natural habitat for birds and other creatures, that is what the countryside looks like doh!!
If it is such a blot to you, a once a year trim back would keep it under control.
You cannot expect the council to tackle every inch of your neighbourhood, if it is looking a mess then ask yourself why, are you all lazy, do you not talk to one another where you live? become a community gardener, it’s great!
Hi Helen
Could you send me an email – on the above email address, regarding the above.
regards
Andrew