Council says weather and staffing to blame for lack of grass-cutting in Perth and Kinross

Council chiefs in Perth and Kinross say weather and staffing pressures are to blame for a lack of grass-cutting in public spaces.

The local authority is warning locals they can expect to see “excess growth” in some areas because workers have been unable to cut grass.

It comes after the council introduced a new policy to let several sites in the region “grow wild” over the next three years – though it insists this is not to blame for the lack of activity in some areas.

A statement by Perth and Kinross Council on Facebook said: “According to provisional figures from the Met Office, the UK had its warmest May on record, together with it being a wet spring for many of us.

“As a result, grass in many of our green spaces in Perth and Kinross has grown more vigorously than usual for this time of year.

‘You may see long grass, excessive growth or longer edges on green spaces’

“In addition, we are experiencing staffing pressures in our grounds maintenance team, which are also impacting on service delivery.

“Therefore you may see long grass, excess growth or longer edges on green spaces, while we continue to work on the grass-cutting schedule in an effort to ensure every community receives a similar level of service.

“The image (above), recently taken on the South Inch in Perth, reflects the impact of warmer, wetter conditions on plant growth, but also the value to the environment and biodiversity of some areas being left to grow more naturally.

“These issues are, however, unrelated to the extension of our #GrowWild grassland management trials encouraging biodiversity.”

The Grow Wild scheme will see areas of longer grass left uncut, in an effort to attract bees, butterflies and other insect pollinators.

Trials were held in an initial 42 locations but the project is set to be extended to 1,700 of the 1,900 sites managed by the council.

The first phase will involve areas served by the Friarton depot, which includes Invergowrie, Bridge of Earn, Glenfarg, Almondbank, Stanley and Perth.

Under the plans, grass will be left to grow on steeper banks, around the margins of sites and under groups of trees.

In other places, grass will be cut at a higher height and less frequently to encourage wildflowers to grow.

The council has launched a Grow Wild survey for locals to have their say on the policy.