Residents at a north east sheltered housing complex have accused Aberdeenshire Council of ignoring them after they were left to maintain the grounds of the building.
Despite being assured by the local authority that gardening staff would attend Pleyfauld House in Inverurie, nobody has offered help for more than 18 months, forcing residents to maintain the garden property on their own.
And, according to 83-year-old resident Grace Reid, this is not the first time that occupants at the home have been ignored by the council.
Last year, she also raised concerns when, two years into maintenance works, tenants were still unable to use a number of the facilities.
About 20 people at Pleyfauld House revealed their growing frustrations to the Press and Journal yesterday and claimed the grounds at the building were in the worst condition they had been since the 1990s.
Mrs Reid, who has been at the home for 15 years, said: “It was promised to us after all the problems last year that they would stay on top of the garden.
“But no one has come and nothing has been done all year, it’s completely unacceptable.
“Some of the residents try to do what they can to keep it looking nice, but we shouldn’t be expected to be sorting the garden.
“We all pay to live here and we get to look at weeds and unkempt lawns, is this really the best we deserve?”
“People wouldn’t let the gardens of their own homes look like this, so why do we have to regard this as acceptable.”
Harold Strachan, 82, who has been at the home for 14 years, said: “It’s really a mess, the worst I have ever seen.
“The council have completely ignored and neglected us. At this point, we don’t care about an apology, we just want someone to come and sort it.”
Jim Murray, 85, said: “It’s not nice for any of the residents here, lots of us have been here for many years, have moved here to enjoy our retirement and now we feel pushed to one side as if we aren’t important.
“Even relatives say it looks a disgrace, it’s very disappointing and I hope it gets resolved quickly.”
Yesterday, Aberdeenshire council said they were running behind schedule, but would attend to the gardens as soon as possible.
The council’s head of roads, landscape services and waste management, Philip McKay, said: “Wet and windy weather, combined with election and referendum duties undertaken by our landscape services team and the process of planting out bedding plants have meant we’re a little behind schedule with our maintenance plan.
“Combined with recent vigorous growth, this has left the grounds looking untidy, but we intend to have the gardens looking much smarter by next week.”
