Maintenance of landscaped areas

Generally sites used often by the public are maintained between 14 and 18 occasions between April and October, depending on location. Low maintenance areas such as steep bankings will be cut less often compared with parks, cemeteries and main roads through towns and villages. 

One of the 2024/25 budget savings proposals was to remove all summer bedding and hanging baskets, this was approved at committee on 21 February 2024. Current summer bedding areas will be grassed over, or planted up with sustainable planting. Summer bedding will still be planted around war memorials and be weeded by hand and hoed every four weeks between June and October. We also have many areas of wild flower planting which is more sustainable and creates broader biodiversity.

More general grassed areas around housing, industrial areas, road and path verges are maintained from April to October. General shrub beds are pruned/forked from November to March and weed killer is applied twice during the growing season, weather permitting.

Rural road verges that are our responsibility are cut once a year. Motorways and slip roads are generally maintained by the trunk road operators.