Sidmouth resident Andy Konstandi says he is 'not being listened to' after pushing for a public garden near his home to be maintained.

He lives in Station Road, and has a public garden in front of his house, for six months now the garden has been overgrown and he says that he feels he is 'going around in circles' trying to get Sidmouth Town Council, the district council and National Highways to come and renovate the garden.

He has now written to the Sidmouth and Honiton MP Richard Foord to try to get the matter resolved.

Mr Konstandi said: "The various public authorities are not 'taking ownership over the public garden directly outside my property.'

The public garden is now overgrown and out of control, it contains bamboo plants which are invasive and are growing wild, he says they 'could potentially damage my property' if not dealt with. 

He added: "My house is one of the most picturesque properties in Sidmouth, it’s a grade-two listed Cottage Orne dating back to the early 1800s.

"The issue seems to have arisen since East Devon District Council divided up maintenance of public areas between themselves and Sidmouth Council.

He added: "Since May of this year I’ve been trying to escalate the matter within Sidmouth Council, East Devon District Council and Highways. All of them have been extremely unhelpful and just fobbing me off."

"I can’t quite remember as I’ve had the run around so much now, either East Devon District Council or Sidmouth Council said that they couldn’t share the information with me regarding ownership of the land as it was not allowed as it comes under freedom of information and I need to go to HM Land Registry.

"Surely the council should be in a position to communicate to local council tax paying residents what public authority is responsible for maintaining public areas."

"The last message I received was from Highways on 31st July 2024 saying they will assess the situation and come back to me by 21st August 2024. The 21st of August has long been and gone and I’ve heard nothing."