Grass maintenance

Use this page to find out more about our grass maintenance policy, how often we mow certain areas and our cutting timetables.

Grass cutting frequency

We cut grass on land that we own, such as parks, verges and wildflower meadows.

The table below shows our usual mowing frequencies. Cutting schedules may be affected by weather conditions.

In some areas, we have reduced our mowing schedules to 1 or 2 cuts per year to protect wildlife habitats and biodiversity.

Grass cutting timetable

Type of area	Typical mowing frequency
Parks, playing fields, green spaces and allotments	Every 2 weeks to 6 weeks from April to October
Parks, playing fields, green spaces and allotments (with reduced cutting frequency)	1 or 2 cuts per year between August and October
Golf courses	Every week from April to October
Roadside verges	Every 4 to 6 weeks from April to October
Roadside verges (with reduced cutting frequency)	1 or 2 cuts per year between August and October
Wildflower meadows	1 cut per year between August and October

You can find out how often an area of grass is scheduled to be cut by viewing our grounds maintenance maps:

Report an obstruction

To report overhanging vegetation that is obstructing a highway, please visit FixMyStreet.

Tackling the climate and ecological emergencies

Grasslands help to tackle the climate and ecological emergencies. However, 97% of lowland meadows have been lost since the 1930s.

Benefits to wildlife

Grasslands contain wildflowers including species such as dandelions that are often thought of as ‘weeds’. Long grass and wildflowers are good for wildlife as they provide food and shelter for insects, birds, small mammals, reptiles and amphibians and they also provide flowers for pollinators. 

Benefits to the environment

Grasslands slow down and absorb the flow of rainwater which can reduce the risk of flooding and they help to cool down our urban areas during heat waves. Storms and heat waves are likely to become more frequent and severe due to climate change.

Cutting grass less often

Cutting the grass less often gives wildflowers the chance to flower and produce seeds. It also reduces air and noise pollution from grass cutting equipment and reduces the amount of fuel that is burned. In some areas, we have reduced our mowing frequency to 1 or 2 cuts per year.

Cutting grass at the right time

It is best to cut grass after the flowers have bloomed and produced seeds, which is usually from August onwards. A cut in early spring can also help wildflowers as long as they haven’t started to flower yet. We cut our long grass between August and October.

Reducing nutrients and avoiding chemicals

After cutting the grass, it is best to remove the grass clippings if possible, as these can cover up the wildflowers making it harder for them to grow. Grass clippings also add nutrients to the soil which are not good for wildflowers as the nutrients cause a small number of species to thrive and overgrow all the other species. Adding fertiliser should be avoided for the same reason.

We are only able to remove grass clippings at a small number of our sites that have been identified as good quality wildflower meadows.

Herbicides (also known as weedkiller) should be avoided, as this harms wildflowers and wildlife. We no longer use glyphosate, the most common herbicide, on council land except in restricted circumstances for this reason.

How you can get involved

If you maintain an area of grass, no matter how small, you can follow the guidance above to help support our wildlife and create greener, cleaner and more peaceful places to live.

To find out more about our projects and how you can help to tackle the climate and ecological emergencies, visit our park projects and Climate Emergency pages. 

For more information on actions you can take to help wildlife, please visit the Wildlife Trusts website.