Anger over grass verges in Darwen (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Anger over grass verges in Darwen

7:00pm Saturday 12th May 2012 in Darwen

PEOPLE living in a Darwen street have hit out at the state of grass verges outside their homes.

Some of the verges have been transformed into parking spaces for residents.

Twin Valley Homes carried out ‘hard landscaping’ outside a number of properties in Birch Hall Avenue.

But people living in homes where the verges were not developed say it is unfair.

And Darwen Town Council mayor Paul Browne said all the verges should be converted.

He said: “It is a real mess. But Twin Valley Homes say they can’t do them all as there are service pipes underneath.

“I don’t believe them. I think Twin Valley have just looked after the rented homes.

“People have been penalised for buying their homes.”

Former Darwen Town Councillor Stephen Potter, who lives in Birch Hall Avenue, said: “I spoke to a man from Twin Valley and he said they had stopped because they had run out of money.

“My fear for a long time has been emergency vehicles getting access with all the cars parked on the road.

“When the cars park on the grass they churn it up something chronic. It is like a mud bath at times.”

Ian Bell, head of housing at Twin Valley Homes, said: “As part of our tenant consultation, we have identified car parking as a major issue on Birch Hall Avenue.

“Blackburn with Darwen Council owns the land, not Twin Valley Homes, but we came to an agreement with the council to solve residents’ problems by spending more than £80,000 providing some parking bays in a first phase of improvements “We are currently investigating a second phase and are working with the council to identify where we can make further improvements.

“However, there are some technical issues we have to take into account, including where the utility services run and how close they are to the surface before we can give the go ahead.”

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