A Kenilworth resident says he has been battling local councils for 14 years to make sure they maintain the square outside his home.

Geoff Burrows says he faces an annual battle to force the district and county councils into removing the weeds and sorting the planters around Oaks Precinct, and has even offered to do the work himself to make sure the square is kept at its best.

But now the problem looks even less likely to be resolved as neither local authority is able to say who actually owns the land.

"Fourteen years ago I complained that the high bed flower beds in Oaks Precinct were in a disgusting condition," he told Nub News. 

"A meeting was called and the councillors got involved and they agreed to redo the whole thing. They turned up a few months later and planted their plants. 

"But then nobody came and maintained it, so the weeds grew and we had to go through it all again the next year.

"This has been going on for 14 years. I have to petition the council every year to get something done."

Mr Burrows says every year he has to force the councils to come and sort out the weeds (image by James Smith)

Mr Burrows - who has lived in Oaks Precinct for nearly 16 years - said he was originally told that Warwickshire County Council (WCC) owns the square, but Warwick District Council (WDC) was responsible for maintaining the planters.

He has since been informed that neither council knows who owns the square, meaning it was unclear who was responsible for sorting the weeds.

"We were told Oaks Precinct is owned by the county council. So if a brick is falling off one of the beds, the county council comes to do it," he explained. 

"But the district council was doing the gardens. I thought that was a bit silly - it's like mowing your neighbour's garden. That is ridiculous.

"But now they are saying they do not know who owns Oaks Precinct. The county council said to me 'we don't know if we own it or not'."

The square has four planters in it, with a cherry tree in the middle. But Mr Burrows said weeds are left to grow in the pots, the edges of the square and between the paving.

And despite the hard work of councillors Richard and Kate Dickson over the past few months to resolve the situation, Mr Burrows said a long term solution is still looking unlikely.

"The council just leave the gardens in a mess," he added. 

"But now they cannot even tell me who owns it, after 14 years. We just keep being let down by the council who we give an extortionate amount of money to through tax.

"It has been a continuous thing for so long. I have even had two apologies from the chief executive from the chief executive of Warwick District Council, saying it will never happen again. But then every year, it does."

A photo of the square from summer 2021 after Bear Cleaning ltd was given funding by WDC to clean Oaks Precinct (image supplied)

A WDC spokesperson told Nub News that checks have been carried out with the Land Registry, and the land to the front of the shops is showing as "unregistered".

However, the council said it will continue to attend to the area as part of its normal street cleaning contract, with Oaks Precinct due to be attended to this week.

"We apologise for the delay in tending to this area," they added. 

"The land does not belong to the local authority but is maintained as part of the street cleansing contract, demonstrating our care for the area."