Countywide grass cutting and weed spraying programme is underway

Grass and roadside vegetation has grown even faster than usual for this time of year, following the very wet winter and ongoing spells of heavy rain throughout spring, together with periods of sunshine. To deal with this exceptionally fast growth, the council has brought in additional grass cutting crews.

Three rounds of cuts are scheduled at rural road junctions this year, in order to maintain good visibility for road users, with the first now completed. Two cycles of urban verge cuts are also programmed to take place in areas where this service has not been devolved to parish and town councils. The first urban cutting cycle has begun. Additionally, crews will be attending locations across the county where reports have been made of roadside cuts being needed to maintain road safety. To date more than 150 of these reactive cuts have taken place with crews primed to go out when new issues are reported on Fix my Street.

In addition to grass cutting, work is also in progress to tackle the growth of weeds alongside footways. Two cycles of weed spraying will be carried out across the whole county on all public footways over the coming months, as well as ‘siding out’ at targeted locations. This is the process of clearing edges of footways where weeds and vegetation have grown through. Crews will use Glyphosate to spray weeds. The chemical is not harmful to people or animals and can be used safely close to water courses. The spray is applied in a fine mist, in very small doses and starts to work within an hour of application. It can only be applied during dry weather.

Richard Barker, Buckinghamshire Council’s Corporate Director for Communities said: “Our crews will be working hard across coming months to keep on top of grass and weed growth around the county. Our inspectors regularly review all locations, but we would ask residents who spot areas where they feel the growth is making it difficult for road users, to report these to us via Fix My Street so we can investigate further and take quick action where needed.”

To report any issue on a road or street within Buckinghamshire visit: www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/fix-my-street