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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.
Develop your own wildflower area
In response to public interest, Leicestershire County Council is offering parish, town, borough, and district councils the opportunity to turn urban roadside verges into dedicated wildflower verges.
Urban grass cutting
The routine urban grass cutting is now complete for the 2019 season.
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
During the season you can search a grass cutting map 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.
Frequently asked questions
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Why has my grass verge been missed?
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Why have the grass cuttings been left?
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I noticed the street nearby has been cut but not mine?
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I don't think the quality of cut is very good
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Villages & Towns maintained by a Parish Council on our behalf
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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
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.