Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about grass cutting in Derby ...
Why don't you sweep the grass from paths after mowing?
Our budgets don’t allow us to sweep the footpaths after grass cutting. To do this we would need extra staff. If the mowing machine drivers had to stop regularly to go back and sweep up it would delay their mowing programme and would not be efficient use of the machines. As we cut most areas fortnightly the grass does not grow very long, so leaving the cuttings and not sweeping the paths does not usually cause problems. Any grass left on the paths tends to disperse very quickly.
However, we clear the paths after grass cutting around warden controlled Council housing areas where the residents are mainly elderly people.
Why don't you use machines that collect the grass?
Very few Councils use machines with collection boxes for grass cutting on general amenity grassed areas. Such machines are normally only used on formal park areas, cricket squares or bowling greens. These machines are slower and more expensive to buy and operate. When mowing, the grass collection boxes need regular emptying and so every mowing machine would need a vehicle and driver following behind it to empty it. This would mean a massive increase in the cost of the service.
Why don't you cut or strim the grass at the base of trees and obstacles?
We use the largest possible mowers to cut the grass to make the service as efficient as we can. On some grassed areas these machines are not able to cut close enough to trees and bases of obstacles. Again, it would be too costly to have additional staff following each time with strimmers or small mowers. There’s also evidence to suggest that constant strimming around trees can cause damage as it removes bark from around the trees' bases.
Instead, we apply a fully approved herbicide around trees and obstacles, usually twice each year. In some seasons, depending on the weather, the effect of the herbicide does not last as long as usual so we may need to do some occasional strimming as well.
Do you clear up litter before cutting the grass?
Grass cutting work is coordinated wherever possible with street cleaning services to ensure large amounts of litter are removed before we mow. Our grass cutting staff don’t usually clear litter because, again, it would involve them constantly stopping their machines to clear the litter. This would delay the grass cutting programme and would also require an additional driver and vehicle to carry the litter, increasing the cost of the service. If our mower drivers see a large amount of litter on a grassed area they may clear it, or report it and wait for it to be cleared before they cut the grass.
Why don't you mow off the untidy bulb foliage after they have finished flowering?
It is good horticultural practice not to cut down the foliage of faded flowering bulbs. They should be left for around six weeks after flowering. This allows them to photosynthesise and take in nutrients through the foliage that help them to produce new bulbs the following year. Our staff will mow around the bulb planted areas until the foliage has thoroughly dried up. This is usually around the middle of June.
I live next to a park and the mowers sometimes start working early in the morning and are quite noisy. Why can’t they work later in the day?
Where possible, and especially in the height of summer, staff start their mowing work early in the day before the parks get busy. This reduces safety risks to children and other members of the public. Also, certain features such as bowling greens and golf greens have to be cut early to be ready for people to use throughout the day.
Why do you carry on mowing even in wet conditions when it may damage the grass and cause a mess?
Unless conditions are very bad and there is the possibility that the mowers will cause serious damage, we cut the grass in all weathers - otherwise mowing would fall behind schedule. The mowing teams cover different parts of the city on different days and don’t have time to return later in the week when the rain stops to cut odd pieces of grass that were left. The alternative would be to leave it until the next scheduled visit, but that would mean that the grass would not be cut for four weeks. Grass is very resilient and quickly recovers from minor smearing or surface damage.
You say that most of the Council grassed areas around the city are cut 15 times, or fortnightly. I have seen some areas of the park that are left longer. Why is that?
The well used areas of the parks are cut fortnightly. However, certain sections on some of the parks have been set aside to plant young trees or sometimes wild flowers. We cut these areas less often, or not at all, to let the young trees and wild flowers develop and grow. Some other sections on the larger parks, usually those densely planted with trees, have been designated as informal areas and these are also cut less frequently or not at all. Other low maintenance areas are sections where wild flowers are being cultivated.
The roadside verge where I live is not’t cut 15 times a year as specified. Why is that?
There are a small number of roadside verges around the city that are only cut between two and six times a year. These are usually very busy roads, such as the A52 from the Pentagon Island towards Nottingham as far as the city boundary at Raynesway. Here, the grass is cut purely for safety reasons and, as cutting it involves setting up road works and disrupting traffic, we do it as little as possible.
Other exceptions may be in semirural areas, usually on the outskirts of the city, where there is no pavement and the verge runs alongside a hedgerow. These areas may also be cut as little as twice a year, which is enough to maintain visibility for traffic emerging from junctions. Examples of this include Acorn Way, Markeaton Lane and parts of Morley Road.
Contact us
Please contact us if you need more information or would like us to clarify the maintenance standards of any particular road.
Telephone 01332 293111
For queries relating specifically to grass cutting on Derby Homes sites, please telephone 01332 711058
Fax 01332 255121
email customerservices@derby.gov.uk
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