Long Grass Cut

A LEIGH councillor is hailing the return of grass cutting in boulevards of Leigh a victory for the community.

Residents of West Leigh are celebrating as the overgrown grass lining two boulevards, Highlands Boulevard and Sutherland Boulevard, has finally been mowed down, following the reversal of a rewilding policy.

The tall grass, which had grown “several feet tall,” had become a point of contention after a rewilding initiative left the areas looking unkempt and neglected.

Owen Cartey, a Tory councillor representing West Leigh, had expressed concern that this year’s growth had presented safety risks.

The policy, introduced by the former Labour-led administration in April 2022, aimed to encourage biodiversity by mowing certain park areas and grass verges only once a year.

This policy extended to grass verges along Highlands Boulevard and Sutherland Boulevard and a majority of Undercliff Gardens in Leigh.

Among the other areas affected by the 2022 policy were Bournes Green Park in Southend, sections of Friars Park in Shoebury, and grass verges between Stanley Road and Queenway.

However, following the May election and a campaign pledge made by Coun Cartey, routine grass cutting has now been reinstated.

Coun Cartey said: “I made a promise to my neighbours in West Leigh that this grass would be cut regularly and now we have delivered.

“It is easy to undervalue just how important routine grass cutting is to local residents, but at the end of the day, we all deserve to live in a well-kept community that we pay council tax to be proud of.”

Coun Cartey acknowledged the progress made in fulfilling election promises, but acknowledged that further work was needed to meet the community’s desired standards.

He outlined upcoming plans, including enhancing safety at steps opposite Burnham Road and maintaining the pathway opposite Theobalds Road to ensure the well-being of Marine Estate residents walking to Leigh Station.

 

A CONTROVERSIAL grassland management strategy, which left some areas uncut for a year has been ditched it has been revealed.

The Conservative administration revealed at a Southend Council meeting, it is re-evaluating the strategy and has begun to cut back areas where long grass is hampering drivers.

Speaking at the meeting, Lydia Hyde, Labour councillor for St Laurence Ward, said: “During the period where the grassland management strategy is revised, will existing grassland management approved by this council this year still be in force, especially in specific regard to rewilding unused road side spaces such as central reservations?”

In response, Meg Davidson, councillor responsible for the environment said: “The grass has been cut on the central reservations. The reason for this is because although done with the best of intentions, it very quickly became apparent there was some unintended consequences.

“We have had problems with drivers at crossovers at central reservations where their line of sight has been obscured and signage has been obscured, so the intention is those particular central reservations will be cut as part of the highways verge maintenance schedule.”

Coun Davidson added: “We are also looking at the strategy that originated as “Bee Happy”. It was a pollinator strategy and then it turned into the Bee Happy grassland management strategy.

“There is not a lot of difference between them and the problem is there is not enough detail on how we are going to create and maintain actual habitats.

“There was mention in this document about consultation, but that consultation didn’t take place. It quickly became apparent that we’ve got some very overgrown places.

“One of them was Prittlebrook greenway, which if I had been consulted, I could have pointed out straightaway that’s not suitable.

“By June the stinging nettles were almost meeting in the middle of the pathway and the whole length had to be cut back, so we want to make sure that we create natural habitats, but they have got to be in the right locations and there needs to be consultation with residents and ward councillors, so we can implement this properly.”

Daniel Cowan, leader of the Labour Group, criticised the move. He said: “The grassland management strategy is out of the window, it’s been confirmed by the portfolio holder tonight.

“They don’t care what residents think. They don’t care what ward councillors think.

“They are just going to chop it all down anyway. It comes at an extra cost. Everything this administration is doing is putting extra financial pressures on this council.”

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