Keeping verges safe and
maintaining essential visibility at bends and junctions.
Suffolk County Council cuts grass adjacent to
roads and paths for safety purposes, to maintain visibility
for road users and to ensure that road and pavement widths are
not reduced by overgrowing vegetation. There are certain
exceptions:
Trunk roads are managed by W S Atkins on
behalf of the
Highways
Agency. Any questions regarding these roads should be
directed to them rather than Suffolk County Council.
Questions regarding grass cutting and verge
maintenance in the following towns should be directed
to:
Grass cutting in urban areas, and on housing estates, is carried
out by district and borough councils for amenity purposes more
frequently than that required for road safety. In order to
avoid duplication, at Suffolk County Council we contribute towards
the cost of cutting undertaken by the district and borough
councils.
There is the potential for conflict of interests between grass
cutting and conservation issues, with wild plants being mown before
they have flowered and seeded. Although some low growing species
thrive in the cut areas, elsewhere they would be smothered by more
dominant varieties.
Roadside nature reserves
We have entered into a partnership with Suffolk Wildlife Trust
to carefully manage about 100 roadside nature reserves. Each
site is promoted by the Wildlife Trust for its special ecological
content. The sites are marked by posts to ensure cutting does
not take place at inappropriate times. However, a cut is
essential to keep the more dominant species at bay and this is
usually in about September or October. Remedial cutting may take
place at other times during the summer.
Verge cutting standards
Single swathe widths (1.2 metres) are cut along most rural
verges, increasing in width to incorporate visibility splays at
junctions, bends and in front of some signs. Often verges are wider
than 1.2 metres and the vegetation beyond this point will remain
largely untouched at these locations, so allowing nature to run its
course.
The following information details the number of cuts per year
assuming average growth rates. Limited additional cutting may be
required at times of exceptional growth when road safety may
otherwise be
jeopardised.
Standard of grass cutting:
- Urban areas: full road verge width - three
cuts per year;
- All other verges: 2 cuts per year;
- Roadside nature reserves: single cut generally
in the autumn in accordance with the requirements of Suffolk
Wildlife Trust.
Timing of cutting
The start date for grass cutting is determined by the growth of
vegetation, which varies from season to season. Rural grass cutting
usually starts in early May.
For more information contact your
Customer Service
Centre.