West Suffolk councillor calls for grass cutting review

Nick Clarke, who represents Clare, Hundon and Kedington on West Suffolk Council, said he believes plans for grass cutting need to be more strategic to ensure parishes are happy and the council is charging correctly. 

He is calling for consultations to take place that include residents to establish where and how often grass needs to be cut, as well as how it is to be funded and how efficiently it is resourced.

Cllr Nick Clarke (Image: Charlotte Bond)

"We need to speak to all of the parishes we cut grass on behalf of, as nobody is happy this year at all," he said.

"Particularly, there is a resource issue and we need to find out, are we resourcing this operation correctly? At the moment, I don't think we are."

Mr Clarke said residents in his constituency have complained about untidy finishes of cuts around trees, and in other areas people have complained about long, unkempt grass growing in cemeteries and parks. 

He said roadsides and verges are a particular danger if they become overgrown.

"Some areas require more cutting than others. Some areas locals don’t want cutting to help the wildlife. Most areas don’t get cut enough in the growing season," he said.

"Our staff work hard but it just is not good enough at the moment."

Cllr Cliff Waterman (Image: WSC)

Cliff Waterman, leader of West Suffolk Council, said the current grass cutting regime was put in place by the Conservative administration before the election in May. 

He said: "At the first meeting of the new Cabinet last month, I announced that we were listening to feedback from our communities and would be reviewing how we manage grass cutting to solve these issues.

"This review is already underway and is taking on board all the feedback we are getting."

He said Mr Clarke was at the meeting and added: "Constructive feedback that he and other district councillors offer as to how things can be improved will be warmly welcomed, but I would urge councillor Clarke to get his facts straight before causing unnecessary concern.

"Our commitment is to keep the district looking well-groomed as well as safeguarding biodiversity. We are also putting the health of our residents and our communities first by avoiding the use of dangerous herbicides such as glyphosate."