Grass Cutting

How often we cut the grass

This depends on what the grass area is used for and the time of year. More cutting may be needed in spring than in summer and even less in winter.

The weather can also affect how often we cut the grass.  Heavy rain and soggy ground conditions make it difficult for us to use our mowing machines because they can cause serious damage to the grass area.  Also heavy mowing machines on soggy sloping ground can make the site dangerous so we sometimes have to wait for the ground to dry out before carrying on mowing.

We cut the 665 hectares of grass in the city on a programmed basis starting in April and finishing in late September.  We use a wide range of machines from pedestrian mowers to the larger tractor with trailing cylinder mowers.

We will do our best to keep to our timetables but may be stopped from doing this by wet weather. If this does happen, we will catch up during the next few visits.

Spring flowers in grass areas

Grass plots that have spring Daffodils and Crocus planted in them are left until the leaves have started to die back before we cut them, usually in July. This is good gardening practice as it makes sure the bulbs produce flowers the following year. Unfortunately, these areas can become overgrown and untidy in early summer.

Removal of clippings

We don't normally remove grass clippings after cutting except around our older people's bungalows.  We do try to keep grass cuttings left on pavements next to grass areas to a minimum and sweep up large amounts which drop onto them.

Depending on the area we either treat the edges of grass areas with weed killer or cut back edges with an edging machine.  This prevents the grass spreading onto pavements and shrub beds.

You can help make grass cutting in the city better by:

Not dropping litter on the grass areas and verges. We make every effort to remove litter before mowing but it's not always possible.  Bottles and cans smash when they get caught in the mower and can spray glass all over the grass area.  This may cause injury to pets and children playing on the grass area.  If paper and plastics are cut up by the mower it's more difficult to pick up. 

Don't put obstacles like signs and building materials on the grass verges.  These can get in the way of the mowers.  Even if they are only there for a short time it can make the area look untidy.

Also don't parking cars for long periods on grass verges.  They can cause an obstruction as well as causing damage to the grass itself.  Oil can leak from cars and kill the grass below as well as the physical damage a heavy car can cause pulling on and off verges.