A WEE COUNTY councillor says he has been inundated with complaints regarding unsightly weeds on the streets.

Conservative West Ward Councillor Darren Lee has slammed the local authority for cutting budgets rather than aggressive growths.

Speaking with the Advertiser, he claimed hundreds of residents got in touch with him regarding the state of roads and pavements and highlighted the Newmills and Carseview areas in Tullibody and called on Clackmannanshire Council to do more and tackle the issue.

However, the local authority says a number of factors contributed to more vegetation growing than usual, including the weather which affects the application of weed killers.

Cllr Lee said: “These complaints from locals are coming about at a time when Clackmannanshire is trying to reimagine itself and promote inward investment and tourism.

“All I would say is that first impressions count.”

While the weeds may be unpleasant to see, the representative believes the council will end up forking out even more cash when the cost of infrastructure repairs begin to rise.

“Protecting and maintaining greenspaces was something I stood for during my campaign” he added.

“This does not take huge sums of money to accomplish and I intend on pushing for a greater council commitment to tackle this problem over the work that is currently being done at the moment.’’

A spokeswoman for Clackmannanshire Council said "unusual weather conditions" had caused issues with vegetation growth.

She added: "The combination of an exceptionally dry period at the start of the season, followed by heat and a lot of rain has seen vegetation grow as fast as experienced staff can remember.

“Budget changes mean we are focussing our resources on delivering essential services for those who need them most, and this year we have changed from two to one weed killer applications, with first treatment due in June.

“Weed killer needs around three hours to become rain fast, and given the wet weather during June and July, it has not been possible to get spraying done as often as required, and some areas have not yet been treated.

“At the end of the season, we will be reviewing the revised programme, and seeing if changes to timing may be required for next year."