An Edinburgh pensioner is furious after his shared garden was left in a mess for more than ten years.
Andrew Niven, 74, has lived in his flat in Craigmount Brae for more than 40 years and claims the problem has worsened in recent years.
The Edinburgh local claims that as well as failing to maintain the grass in their shared garden, housing association Places For People refuses to collect the mass of debris left abandoned - including children's bikes and scooters dumped for more than a decade.
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Andrew says he has tried to get the association to fix the problem but claims that every time he has phoned, he’s been dismissed with promises that a housing officer will be out to check on the property - and that no one ever follows up on these calls.
But Places For People said the state of the garden is not their responsibility and they encourage tenants to look after shared spaces.
At 74 years-old, Andrew says he is unable to tidy the garden himself and is left deeply frustrated by the state of his garden.
Andrew said: “I've lived in this flat for over 40 years and the service has gone down since Castlerock took over.
“The grass does get cut every so often but it's a mess- patchy and with lumps everywhere, it’s just a nightmare. It’s been like this for a few years now. It’s just gotten worse and worse.
“There’s been bikes that have been lying there for ten years, we got a letter years ago about it but nothing happened and it was never followed through on.
“There was also another letter from Castlerock which said that the people who own the bikes should have them removed.
“The bins get a bit messy because they don’t have lids and birds come pecking away at them but we have been lucky that there are no mice or anything like that.
“They've done nothing, I've phoned a few times and they said they’ll pass on the message to the housing officer and that’s it. It never goes anywhere.
"I contacted my MSP. They’ve tried and they’re not getting a response either.
“They’re just not doing anything. It’s just useless, the service is terrible.
“I’ve been trying to get this sorted for at least three months and I speak to someone and they say the housing officer will call me and I’m still waiting! “
We reached out to Places for People for comment. A spokesperson said: "Places for People Scotland is committed to ensuring that homes and neighbourhoods are a safe and welcoming place for our over 10,500 customers.
"Whilst we do not hold responsibility for maintaining communal gardens at the property, we have made efforts to encourage people to remove bulk and other items so that the space may be enjoyed by everyone."
