An elderly widow is in a dispute with her parish council chairman neighbour over out-of-control weeds she says are ‘wrecking’ her fence.
Maureen Martin, who has lived in Stonehall Common, Kempsey for 42 years, says the problem has been going on for six years and has cost her £2.500 in repairs and maintenance.
The 88-year-old doll maker and sculptor claims the overgrown weeds from her neighbours’ property are damaging her fence and garden while vegetation cuts off natural light to her home.
However, her neighbour Chris Waller, who is also chair of Kempsey Parish Council, said Mrs Martin’s account bears ‘no resemblance to the reality’, describing it as a ‘private neighbour dispute’.
COMPLAINT: Maureen Martin has been told her complaint about neighbour Chris Waller is not a matter for the monitoring officer (Image: James Connell/Newsquest)
Mrs Martin, who describes herself as a sculptor and World Champion Dollmaker, wrote to the monitoring officer of Malvern Hills District Council to complain, only to be advised ‘The Members’ Code of Conduct applies to councillors when they are acting, claiming to act, or giving the impression that they are acting in their capacity as a councillor.
The monitoring officer, writing on August 10 this year, advises Mrs Martin ‘there is no evidence that Cllr Waller was acting in his official capacity as a councillor in relation to these matters’ and ‘the concerns appear to arise from a dispute between neighbouring property owners’.
In the letter Mrs Martin wrote: “This is very long fencing which over time has cost me £2,500. Part was renewed in recent years due to encroaching weeds.”
She told the Worcester News she had previously asked Mr Waller ‘if he could get a strimmer’ and that the weeds are ‘wrecking my fence’.
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“The weeds are coming through my fence and over the fence. They weaken it. I’m angry,” she said.
She said her requests for the weeds to be cut back had been ignored and a ‘huge pile of wood is backed up to a large part so that the weeds that are growing are given free rein to survive’.
Mrs Martin said: “I believe that I am now entitled to peaceful old age – I do (unlike the Wallers) maintain my property to a very high standard. The weeds are gradually wrecking my fence and I foresee a further large bill coming my way – totally uncalled for. My gardener does whatever he can to keep the weeds down but really not feasible.”
However, Mr Waller said: “I suggest that if there is any public interest in this story, it relates to the fact that I am currently the Chair of Kempsey Parish Council. Otherwise it is simply a story about a neighbour dispute.
“As you may be aware, the standard of conduct for local government councillors is the relevant Code of Conduct. In this case, the Monitoring Officer at Malvern Hills District Council, who did not contact me and has evidently concluded that it was not necessary to investigate Mrs Martin’s allegations, has determined that Mrs Martin’s complaint is a private neighbour dispute outside of the District Council’s Standards regime.”
