THERE is no solution in sight to fixing the state of the borough’s shabby grass verges.

And one councillor fears the latest delay could mean a return of the muddy, churned-up mess that blighted Welwyn Hatfield earlier this year.

The long-standing issue came up again at a meeting of the Welwyn Hatfield highways joint members’ panel.

A decision, already postponed at two previous meetings of the committee, was deferred yet again – the reason this time being the public spending cuts that need to be made.

But borough and county councillor Malcolm Cowan, who sits on the committee, blasted the delay.

He told the WHT it was deemed “far too difficult for mere councillors” to solve, with the issue instead being left to the authorities’ respective executive members to talk through and come up with a decision.

Cllr Cowan said: “The bottom line is the borough council wants nothing to do with it, but they’re on their own.

“The public want something to happen and the county council wants something to happen.”

Cllr Cowan also said the delay meant no repair work would take place in the foreseeable future – which could lead to verges being further destroyed if the area is hit by bad weather in the autumn.

He added: “We’re going nowhere quite slowly and it’s totally unsatisfactory.”

A borough council spokeswoman said: “In light of the acute pressure on county council and borough council budgets, it was suggested decisions on the grass verges item should be postponed.

“Executive members and officers from both authorities will meet to discuss the issues and recommendations will be made back to the panel at its meeting in October.”