A Perth mechanic claims he has offered to buy land from the council after cars were vandalised near his business.
Omar Al-hamdani, the owner of Hamdani Motors, says vandalism is a regular occurrence on council-owned land near his premises at Tulloch Works.
However, despite claiming to have made several offers to buy land off Tulloch Road he says he has never received a response from a council officer.
Omar currently owns a small part of the land, but he says that by owning the rest he says he can make it more secure.
It follows a police appeal after two cars were torched earlier this month.
Cars damaged in Tulloch after being ‘abandoned for months’
Omar told The Courier: “Any car that gets left, they get set on fire and vandalised.
“The car park isn’t ours so we’ve no right to do anything and it’s open to anyone.
“I once left a car out and the alloys got stolen on my land.
“A police appeal went out and they got found but it got vandalised again – bricks were thrown at it.
“I usually keep my cars in overnight or on my land. My garage is secure with state-of-the-art stuff but I’m getting worried as it’s getting closer and closer.
“During the day we’ve seen kids smoking dope and trying cars and I’ve had to chase them away.
“Anyone can park their car there, some have abandoned their cars they’ve been here for a few months.”
Perth mechanic tries to buy land but no response from council
He added that his requests have fallen on deaf ears.
“I’ve tried to buy it and rent it but the council aren’t interested in us doing it,” said Omar.
“I explained to the council that I could buy the land or lease it, fence it and put cameras up.
“The council needs to sell it, secure it, just do something.”
Perth and Kinross Council has not replied to The Courier’s requests for comment.
Police issued an appeal after a green Land Rover Discovery and a silver Vauxhall Mokka were set on fire overnight between Thursday, February 1 and Friday, February 2.
A spokesperson said: “If you have any information that could assist our inquiries, please call 101 or speak to any police officer.
“Information can also be given anonymously through CrimeStoppers on 0800 555 111. Our reference is incident 0745 of 2nd February.”
A Perth and Kinross spokesperson said: “The land in question is owned by the council and has been used for a considerable period of time for vehicle parking.
“We previously advised Mr Hamdani’s legal representative in 2021 that we would not be able to dispose of the area either by lease or sale because of how the site is used.
“However, there are signs in place advising it should not be used for overnight parking.”
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