Weeds have brought a community together in Fenay Bridge.

Residents were fed up that plots of land and play areas on the private Fenay Bridge Park estate had become overgrown.

So neighbours joined forces to blitz the grotspots – and found a whole new community spirit.

The estate, off Penistone Road, has some 240 homes and was built by developers Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon Homes around 10 years ago.

According to residents, Kirklees Council cut the grass and weeded some parts but not others and it was unclear who was responsible for the rest.

One of the worst eyesores was the so-called Turtle Maze off Hanby Close, a children’s play mound, where the grass had reached 3ft high, while a mini-roundabout and the entrance to the estate off Station Road had also become overgrown.

The overgrown roundabout in Hanby Close on Fenay Bridge Park, Huddersfield, before residents tackled the weeds.
The overgrown roundabout in Hanby Close on Fenay Bridge Park, Huddersfield, before residents tackled the weeds.

An appeal for volunteers went out on the estate’s Facebook group, the Fenay Bridge Park Community Noticeboard, and organisers were inundated with willing helpers.

One of the organisers, mum-of-two Caroline Courtney, 38, said: “This has really brought us all together and we were delighted at how enthusiastic everybody was.

“We have taken this work upon ourselves but we are keen to find out why Kirklees doesn’t maintain the whole estate.”

Residents on the Fenay Bridge Park estate, Huddersfield, are all smiles after clearing the overgrown roundabout in Hanby Close.
Residents on the Fenay Bridge Park estate, Huddersfield, are all smiles after clearing the overgrown roundabout in Hanby Close.

Guy Davis teamed up with neighbours Scott McCready and Scott Pyrah-Blandford to tackle the Turtle Maze and on Saturday 15 volunteers cleared a mini-roundabout in Hanby Close, collecting 25 bags of weeds.

Others did the tip run on Sunday and there were more volunteers than bags!

“Some people couldn’t help on the day and there were children who were disappointed so we are looking at other areas too,” said Caroline, who has two children Isabella, seven, and Isaac, two.

“It’s great to have such fantastic community spirit.”

The group now wants to tackle the overgrown entrance to the estate.

Kirklees Council referred the Examiner to an estate management company called Greenbelt Group Ltd but a spokesman for Greenbelt said all its land on the estate was “well tended, neat and tidy.”

He praised residents for their “fantastic level of community spirit.”

It later emerged that the Turtle Maze was the responsibility of Persimmon Homes.

In a statement managing director Wayne Gradwell said: “We sincerely apologise that the maintenance of the Turtle Maze play area on Hanby Close has not met our usual rigorously high standards and thank those residents that have brought this to our attention.

“We are currently arranging a new contract for ground maintenance to ensure the play area is properly cared for until it is adopted by the estate management company.”

It was not clear who was responsible for the other land.

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