York Council remains committed to a schedule for cutting residential grass verges when weather allows Labour has said, after a Liberal Democrat claimed the current regime is unclear.
The Liberal Democrat opposition’s environment spokesperson Cllr Paula Widdowson said cuts to City of York Council’s place budget had left hedges overgrown while the Wheldrake wildflower verge had been mowed.
Ruling Labour’s environment executive member Cllr Jenny Kent said mowing every five to six weeks from March to October aimed to promote biodiversity while maintaining verges within tighter financial constraints.
It comes after the mowing of the Wheldrake Lane verge in June sparked calls for answers about about the move and the council’s wider maintenance regime at its last full meeting.
The verge was designated as one for wildflowers in 2021, meaning it would not be cut during summer.
Wheldrake ward Liberal Democrat Cllr Christian Vassie said in June signs at the verge stated it should not be cut and asked Cllr Kent to explain what happened in July.
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The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) understands it was cut by a third party and the executive member told July’s full council meeting she deeply regretted what had happened.
She added management of the verge had been taken off a private landowner while the mapping of where cutting should take place had been ongoing for around a year.
Liberal Democrats have also claimed their attempts to seek clarity on which verges were designated for cutting were stifled after a motion they tabled on the issue was thrown out.
Council officers ruled the motion was out of order because the matter had already been discussed and actions agreed so it was deemed it strayed into operational matters.
It has since prompted Cllr Widdowson’s call for the council to explain its grass cutting regime, including whether there is a ‘No Mow May’ policy in place.
The opposition environment spokesperson said: “What does our council tax go towards if not mowing verges?
“The Labour executive chose to cut £900,000 from the council’s Place budget and we are now seeing the result of this: overgrown hedges around York that block motorist and pedestrian views to the point of danger.
“The motion was designed to be helpful to all sides of the council, providing clarity for residents across our city where the council should be mowing the verges.”
Cllr Kent said she had outlined the council’s position on verge cutting in February and it was unaffected by the savings approved in this year’s budget.
She added the current administration had been working to rectify the lack of records on public works maintenance she claimed was left behind by the previous Liberal Democrat-Green coalition administration.
The executive member said: “We do not observe ‘No Mow May’ as it can allow grass to get too long for cutting and also leave behind an excess of cut grass, but sometimes poor weather can result in an unavoidable delay to cutting at this time of year.
“This formalises a schedule the council will keep to, weather dependent, rather than stating a higher number of cuts than it was actually carrying out, as happened in recent years.
“We believe it’s important to be honest with the public about what the council can do in times of significantly reduced funding.”
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