Bexhill residents call for council to tackle overgrown verges

There are also concerns the untamed grass is affecting motorists’ visibility

Resident Ann Davies said: “If you walk in Seabourne Road and Haslam Crescent, the grass and weeds are so long you can hardly see the pavement.

“I have written to East Sussex County Council and complained about this but no grass cutting or wedging has taken place so what is going on Bexhill is looking dirty and unkempt.

“It is such a shame.”

Danny Daniels contacted East Sussex Highways to complain.

He said: “I was told we were only getting two cuts per year instead of the usual six, the first one commencing June 21 and the second one on October 10.

“They duly turned up in Bishops Walk and cut a grass verge. However they cut nothing else, even though the overgrowth on the corners Pebsham Drive are near a metre high, causing a blind spot in both directions when leaving Penhurst Drive.”

An East Sussex County Council spokesperson said: “Grass cutting is currently underway in Bexhill and is approximately 50 per cent complete. Areas that have not yet been cut will be completed over the next few weeks.

“Following several years of Government austerity cuts the council can only afford to carry out two grass cuts per year in urban areas, although the council also fulfils its statutory duty to cut grass as and when required when there is a road safety requirement to do so, such as at junctions.

“Following consultation in 2018, all borough, district, town and parish councils were offered the option of taking on responsibility for urban grass cutting themselves where this is a local priority or paying the county council to continue cutting six times a year, and these may be future options for Bexhill.

“Residents can check when the grass in their area will be cut by visiting www.eastsussexhighways.com/our-services/vegetation/grass.”