Grass Cutting in the Parish
Published: 24 April 2024
There are many areas of land within our Parish and responsibility falls to not only the Parish Council, but to Stroud District Council and Gloucestershire County Council. Although we work closely with both authorities, ultimately, we don’t have responsibility for their cutting regime.
Each year we receive complaints about a lack of grass cutting and too much grass cutting. How we cut the grass is always going to be a compromise. For instance, cutting grass short impacts on the ability of plants and wildlife to thrive - some say it creates ecological deserts. On the other hand, cutting grass infrequently or not at all can result in thuggish, invasive plants taking over. They can overwhelm more sensitive plants, resulting in loss of biodiversity.
The parish has areas of rare Cotswold limestone plants, which we must do all we can to preserve for future generations. Yet it is important that our playing fields are maintained so as to meet the recreational needs of today’s children, young people and adults.
We are committed by the Carbon Neutral 2030 Framework we adopted in January 2021 to work to increase biodiversity in our parish, yet we must make sure that the cutting regime we ask our Groundsmen to adopt is practical and easily workable.
At the end of each cutting season, the Works Committee carries out a thorough review of our cutting regime, taking into consideration any concerns and comments we have received throughout the year.
The parish is a great place to live, and we want to keep it that way for present and future generations. We have many competing demands, not least with grass cutting and compromises are inevitable. We thank you for your understanding.