OAP fixes up property after council ‘refusal’

One OAP at the Oswald Road flats has been forced to take matters into her own hands to make repairs and maintenance on the council property.

Francis Walsh, despite being 74 and suffering from arthritis is having to paint all the rotting fences and rusty handrails herself.

She said that as the repairs mount up, residents need to badger the council to come and take action.

Francis said: “They’ve just neglected the area.

“There’s moss in the guttering so when it rains there’s a waterfall at the back.

“The backyard which is paved, you have to fight your way through the weeds to get out to the drying area.

“The wooden fence surrounding it is all rotten.

“The handrail at the front is covered in rust – one of my neighbours who is a bit unsteady caught her hand on it.”

However, with lockdown causing some problems, this year has been worse.

“Every year the weeds need cleared and every year we have to go begging to the council.

“They’ve been really bad this year and the council came to clear them, but they didn’t do anything else.

“I called the council to see if they were planning on doing anything else and they said ‘no’.”

Francis decided to find out if she could then make improvements herself.

She added: “I called the council and asked if I could pain the rotting fence myself, and they said ‘any colour you like’.

“So I even had to pay for the pain and brushes myself.”

A council spokesman has now indicated that the local authority will look again at the problems.

Joan Lamie, Fife Council housing manager for Kirkcaldy, said: “Unfortunately, there have been some delays during the lockdown period.

“I can confirm that the weeds have been removed and the drying green area tidied up.

“An inspection has also been carried out of the fencing.”

She added: “Work has also been instructed to clean the guttering and to paint the external handrail.”