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Grass cutting

We cut grass on highway verges, central reservations and islands in Leicestershire

Ann Carruthers, director of environment and transport, with a message to Leicestershire residents following lots of social media activity on the county council’s approach to grass cutting.

Urban grass cutting

We only cut grass for safety reasons, not appearance. Clippings are left on the verge as the sheer amount means we couldn't collect them. 

Grass in towns and villages is cut by a 2 man gang using a ride on mower with flail and a strimmer. Each 2 man gang aims to cut the equivalent of nearly 4 football pitches a day.

Cut dates

The map below shows urban cut date information. You can search by postcode or place name to find the grass you’re interested in, then click on it to see when it will be cut.  

If the grass verge outside a property has been cut by a resident the map automatically defaults to cut.

36 Parish Councils cut grass in their areas on our behalf.

 

Map disclaimer

Frequently asked questions

 

Motorways and Trunk Roads are cut by Highways England

The A5 / A46 / A42 / A453 / A52 / A50 (J24 towards Stoke) / A14 / M1 / M69 / M42 and M6 are the responsibility of Highways England. You can report a grass issue to them by calling 0300 123 5000.

Rural grass cutting

  • The first rural grass cut starts on Monday 15 April and the whole County will be completed by Friday 24 May.

Roads in between towns and villages (40mph and above) are classed as rural grass cutting routes, these are generally highway verges between village entry signs. These are cut in a nominal 1 metre swathe from the edge of the carriageway or footway, to ensure that vegetation does not restrict visibility for highway users.  

Wild flowers bloom in spring

Our grass cutting teams cut around planted bulbs such as daffodils. These areas are not cut until around June, after the daffodil season has died down. This is usually around the 3rd cut of the season.  If we’re informed of an unusual species of wildflower such as an orchid, we will take advice from Council’s Principal Ecologist and amend our mowing programme to avoid harm.

Private accesses are the property owners responsibility

A private access is defined as an access that goes back onto non-highway land. When we undertake a single swathe along the route we will continue the 1m swathe across the private access but we don’t cut back the visibility splay around the access, this is the property owners responsibility.

Weed spraying

We spray weeds in late May and late September. By law the weed killer that we use is no stronger than products sold at DIY stores.

Hedge cutting

Most hedges are privately owned and we are currently only responsible for cutting hedges in just 250 locations across the county. Routine cutting is restricted to between October and February to avoid bird nesting season and fit around the grass cutting programme. Hedges are only cut for safety reasons and not appearance, to ensure branches do not overhang the highway or footway.

Edging back requests

Edging back of footways is usually done outside of the grass cutting season between October and March.

Report a grass cutting problem

We do our best to keep to the grass cutting schedule, but sometimes problems like bad weather can delay a cut. When this happens we try to catch up as soon as possible.

 

Please be aware that we only cut grass for safety reasons, not appearance.

If overgrown grass is causing a problem you can tell us about it. Search for the grass you would like to report using a place name or postcode on the map above. Then select the area of grass to report an issue.

If you cannot find the area of grass you would like to report, it may be cut by a Parish council. A list of contact details is available above, see 'Villages & Towns maintained by a Parish Council on our behalf'. 

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