Dear Editor

My family and I moved to Waterside in August 1992 and have come to love the area we live in.  Our family grew and the children enjoyed the freedom of playing on the ‘green’ (the left side of the street) with friends.

During the last few years the obvious neglect that has been apparent from The Chase Hotel and the council for the maintenance/upkeep of the boundary in the area is staggering.  The ‘green’ has all but disappeared, boughs have fallen and crossed the boundary fence, by up to 8 metres in places and the whole area seems to be covered with brambles, nettles and shrubs.

The Chase Hotel some years ago erected a cleft chestnut fence on the lower edge of the boundary with Waterside, much of this is now far from erect.  If you look over this fencing you will see the remains of a previously erected fence made of metal. The distance of this second fence is a distance of approximately 1.2 metres towards The Chase Hotel.

How was The Chase allowed to erect a fence that seems to have encroached on public highway verge by this much? Where is the original boundary of The Chase Hotel and Waterside?

With all the publicity about The Chase Hotel and the housing at the moment, it seems odd that the grounds have not been maintained over the last 27 years, yet if planning gets the go ahead, the grounds will be maintained, why all of a sudden and for how long? Will the new housing be allowed to be sold with a possible boundary issue?

The owners of The Chase Hotel and the council have both been very lax in maintenance of this once lovely area and both parties should be held to account.

Roger Burton

Ross-on-Wye