Waste of money

Desmond Shaw, of Arun Court, told the Herald that council contractors had put a fence in around his block of flats in the wrong place, the flower beds were full of weeds and decorating work had not been finished in the hallways.

Mr Shaw said the new fence should be next to the hedge in front of his block of flats, but there is a large gap between the fence and the hedge.

He added the flower beds around the flats were all full of weeds and said: "A lot of the people here are pensioners and they cannot dig these gardens."

Mr Shaw said in another block of flats the balconies had been removed because they were not safe and iron bars put in their place to stop residents opening the doors and falling out.

He said the wheelie bins were never taken out and cleaned also.

The Herald reported two weeks ago that Adur Council were spending 800,000 on refurbishing the flats around Stoney Lane.

District councillor Peter Berry said work in the hallways had been delayed after asbestos had been found, but specialist contractors would be at the flats on Tuesday morning to deal with it.

A spokesman for Adur Council said the asbestos had been found hidden in the stairwell. Work was immediately stopped when it was found and the Health and Safety Executive were informed.

The spokesman added that the work has been in consultation with the residents and was ongoing. She added that contractors were due to start weeding the beds yesterday (Wednesday).