Abominable Alleys

From Chester Wiki

The alleyways in Hoole are a disgrace.

DavidinChester wrote on the Hoole Connect forum:

• "Having lived in a Hoole terrace for 8 years now I am aware that no one wants to take responsibility for maintaining the back ally behind our houses. It took a local resident to complain to the chronicle 3 years ago to get the Council to clear away the overgrowing clutter and rubbish but I haven't seen them since. These alleys should be kept clean and tidy by the residents but also by someone being responsible for their upkeep."

Back in May 2001, I was putting out the bin bags in our alley in the very early morning when the pavement collapsed under me revealing a large void, causing me to tear my suit and injure my back. You don't get compensation for this sort of thing if the council can show that they have inspected the alley in the past few months. Some patchy repairs were made.

Over the next few years the problem continued and in 2006, despite being very careful I had an almost identical accident and got the same story from the council. At the time of my accident the council workers uncovered a significant undermining of the walls of the adjacent property - they expressed the opinion that this was caused by rats.

Since then I have been taking photographs of the alley on a regular basis. These show various collapses some of which have been visible for well over three months. The Council's behaviour in this matter seems reckless and reprehensible.