‘I’ve never seen it so scruffy’ – Llandudno speaks for the rest of North Wales as weeds take over

‘I’ve never seen it so scruffy’ – Llandudno speaks for the rest of North Wales as weeds take over

When Andrea Roberts looks out over the Llandudno street she has lived on for nearly 54 years, her heart sinks. “I’ve never seen my neighbourhood look as neglected and run down as it does now,” she says. “It’s horrible. The whole of Lon Cymru looks like a post-apocalyptic movie.”

This sentiment is echoed across North Wales. Complaints about the state of public spaces are nothing new, but they seem to have gained momentum this summer. Weeds have become public enemy number one.




Municipalities are feeling the pinch. Budgets have been slashed and cuts are necessary, but community pride is hard to come by: in some places, it feels like it’s being eroded by weeds, so high-altitude drivers can’t see out of intersections.

LEARN MORE: In defence of North Wales, town named UK’s worst seaside resort

LEARN MORE: Outrage over ‘shameful’ parking charges at Zip World site where locals come for a cup of tea

Social media has been awash with frustration at the state of council pavements and flowerbeds from Beaumaris to Colwyn Bay. Wrexham residents complain of living in a “jungle”. In Rhyl, residents bemoan the “dilapidated” bus station shelters, where rose beds are littered with rubbish and “choked by weeds”. “It’s so depressing to wait for a bus now,” said one passenger.

There are complaints everywhere about overgrown kerbs and sidewalks. Uncut trees clutter the streets and drains are blocked by organic debris. Uncut hedgerows riddled with brambles force people off the sidewalks and onto the roads. “It’s a nightmare trying to get across with a pram,” one Denbigh mum wrote online. “I can’t see anything when I go out.”

Particularly frustrating is the plant debris left to rot after lawns are mown. The “No Mow May” program is often criticized as a cost-cutting measure disguised as a conservation initiative.