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Welcome to the jungle! Grass cutting goes by the wayside on Preston road network

Posted on - 4th July, 2016 - 10:45pm | Author - | Posted in - Fulwood, Politics, Preston News, Transport
One section of longer grass in Fulwood Pic: Ben Jepson

One section of longer grass in Fulwood Pic: Ben Jepson

Swathes of grass verges across Preston have been left to sway in the breeze as the grass grows high and tall.

Lancashire County Council – as of mid-June – have been responsible for cutting back the grass.

Preston residents have been contacting Blog Preston about the length of grass, particularly on the outskirts of the city.

Ben Jepson, from Fulwood, sent us the picture above of the verges in Longsands Lane near the Anderton Arms pub.

While Sherwood Way has grass obscuring corners of the road as you drive up towards the Sherwood pub and primary school.

Preston City Council did have responsibility for cutting grass, but ended its agreement and passed it back to the county council.

Director of Environment Adrian Phillips said: “Due to the expiry of the agreement, Lancashire County Council are now responsible for maintenance of highway grass verges, pruning of street trees and weed control throughout the whole of Preston.

“People should contact the County Council at highways@lancashire.gov.uk or through their website at www.lancashire.gov.uk. The City Council will continue to maintain its own land, such as in Preston’s Parks.”

New strimmers sought

A spokesman for Lancashire County Council said: “We have had to accommodate reductions in spending in many areas of our budget to contribute to huge savings we need to make due to ongoing cuts in the funding we receive from government and rising demand for services.

“Some of these savings have been made by working closely with district councils and optimising the way we deliver highway services to make both our operations as efficient as they can be. We have also asked district councils to accommodate a reduction of around 20 per cent in the funding we give them to carry out activities such as grass cutting and we do understand this will have an impact.

“Preston Council and West Lancashire Borough Council decided not to continue these arrangements and we are due to appoint contractors very shortly to continue to deliver this service in these districts.”

A statement from the county council via its Twitter account said: “In previous years Preston Council carried out maintenance on our behalf, including grass cutting.

“The city didn’t wish to renew the agreement which ended on 14 June. It’s taken some time to gather documentation.

“Tenders have been returned and are being evaluated to appoint a contractor to carry out the work.

“They’ll be working hard over the coming months to carry out grass cutting and other highways vegetation works as required.”

How is the grass near you? Need a trim? Have you taken matters into your own hands? Let us know in the comments below

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