Cabinet councillor demands ‘rapid improvements’ from mowing contractor

The council’s efforts to encourage greater biodiversity by allowing wildflowers to flourish has been widely supported, but mowing elsewhere has fallen behind schedule.

Councillor Emily O’Brien, Cabinet Member for Climate, Nature and Food Systems, met with officers to ensure areas meant for recreation are mown and fit for use and has welcomed the council contractor’s recovery plan.

Councillor O’Brien said: “I’ve championed the new mowing regimes and take great heart from seeing wildlife havens being created where once there was just short grass with very little value to pollinators and other wildlife.

"This work is to be celebrated, but it is simply unacceptable that areas intended for recreation and play have become overgrown with long grass and in some places are almost unusable. The school summer holidays are just weeks away and I’ve made it absolutely clear that I want to see rapid improvements in this situation.”

The council’s contractor is prioritising grass cutting in play areas and work is underway at catching up across the district.

Councillor O’Brien added: “I’m sympathetic to machines breaking down and the challenge of staff shortages, but the leisure time of our residents is very important and I’m sorry their enjoyment of some areas they regularly visit is being compromised at this time.”

For example, Newhaven residents have issued complaints about the condition of Denton graveyard, with long overgrown grass and a lack of wildflower planting.

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