Angry residents call for clean up of Melton estate

Angry council tenants living on Melton's Fairmead Estate are calling for action to clean up their area and fix uneven paving slabs posing a hazard to residents and children.
Wheelchair-bound Melton Council tenant Karen Knight with her husband and carer Paul on the path outside their home on Drummond Walk EMN-160806-152222001Wheelchair-bound Melton Council tenant Karen Knight with her husband and carer Paul on the path outside their home on Drummond Walk EMN-160806-152222001
Wheelchair-bound Melton Council tenant Karen Knight with her husband and carer Paul on the path outside their home on Drummond Walk EMN-160806-152222001

Wheelchair-bound Karen Knight (56), who lives on Drummond Walk, suffers from osteoporosis, Parkinsons and Raynaud’s Disease. Her husband and carer, Paul, said he was ‘disgusted’ at the state of the paths near their home, with gaps between paving slabs wide enough for his wife’s wheelchair wheels to fall into.

He said: “It’s disgusting. I have to hold onto the brakes because I’m scared my wife will tip out of her wheelchair. In her condition any sudden jolts could end up doing more damage. It’s also a hazard for children on their scooters, it’s just terrible.

“I told the council about it at least a year ago. Melton Council passed me on to the county council’s highways team. They’ve come out in the past but nothing has been done. In the end you feel like giving up but I pay my rent so I think we’re entitled to get something done.”

Concerns have been raised about the uneven paving slabs, and the gaps between them, in Drummond Walk EMN-160806-153427001Concerns have been raised about the uneven paving slabs, and the gaps between them, in Drummond Walk EMN-160806-153427001
Concerns have been raised about the uneven paving slabs, and the gaps between them, in Drummond Walk EMN-160806-153427001

Fellow Drummond Walk resident Neil Underwood claimed he’d left 11 answer messages with Melton Council, complaining about the general state of the area.

He said: “When you pay your council tax you expect to get a service. The area is unkempt, we’ve had flytipping and you can’t see the kerb on the opposite side of the car park because of the overgrown hedges.”

A Leicestershire County Council spokesman said: “We inspect the pavements in this area annually, and last visited earlier in the year in January. We haven’t received any recent reports from residents about the condition of the pavements in the area, but we are aware of sections within the Fairmead Estate, including Drummond Walk, that are in need of some general repairs. We have arranged for an inspector to visit the area again this week following the concerns raised and will schedule any necessary repairs.”

The Melton Times contacted Melton Council for a response but had not received one at the time of going to press.

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