WYRE Forest Community Housing has been criticised by a district councillor for failing to maintain and clear up land it owns in Broadwaters in Kidderminster.

Labour councillor Adrian Sewell has complained to The Community Housing Group a number of times about fly-tipping, litter and overgrown communal gardens in Edinburgh Close and land next to Springfield Park.

Mr Sewell said community housing was not setting a good example to its tenants and that it had a duty to maintain the land.

A spokeswoman for The Community Housing Group said the land in Edinburgh Close was “difficult” to access but contractors Oakleaf Grounds Services regularly visited the site to clear it up.

The group also said it had agreed with the Friends of Springfield Park to look at the land near the park as part of its winter maintenance programme.

Mr Sewell said: “They have a statutory duty to maintain these areas and they are not doing it.

“They’re not showing any accountability.

“There is propane bottles and broken glass in Edinburgh Close – this is by a play area.

“They just washed their hands of it.

“They’re blaming tenants for throwing rubbish out of their houses and threatening them with eviction – it may not be them. They’re not exactly setting an example.”

A community housing spokeswoman said: “We are aware that Edinburgh Close is a fly tipping hotspot and Oakleaf Grounds Services visit on a regular basis to clear it up.

“It is a difficult piece of land to get access to and because of the steep slope it can be dangerous for our teams to work on with machinery. We take the health and safety of our employees very seriously and work is under way to make the area safer and easier to maintain.

“We are disappointed that the land adjacent to Springfield Park, which belongs to The Community Housing Group, is being affected by fly-tipping.

“We have agreed with the Friends of Springfield Park to look at the land as part of our winter maintenance programme, which started in October.

“In order to effectively review it, we need the vegetation which is covering it to die back.

“We are sorry to hear that some email correspondence has not received a response.”