Public Places “
This year has been a struggle to maintain mowing frequencies due to the constant wet weather, but this has helped us to identify areas where long grass is acceptable - and where it is not!
Wokingham park before the new grassland cutting regime ...
several areas across the borough. Savings released from the changes to the mowing frequencies will allow the council to invest in expanding the amount of wildflowers at selective sites by 10,000sq/m per year for ten years. This should have a huge impact on local biodiversity which will be monitored by nearby Reading University, which took part in the National Pollinator Strategy studies. Various sowing techniques will be trialled, including direct sowing of perennial wildflower seed into grassland using modern disc overseeders. Clean/Green Services Officer, James Jones-
McFarland, who has responsibility for grounds maintenance says; “This is a really exciting opportunity for developing a mosaic of interconnected species-rich habitats throughout the borough. Not all our green spaces lend themselves to long grass regimes and regular cutting will continue on land where shorter grass is required. Sports pitches will have an improved and more modern maintenance regime, whilst play areas and cemeteries will still be kept smart, as requested by the public in a recent consultation. This year has been a struggle to maintain mowing frequencies due to the constant wet weather, but this has helped us
to identify areas where long grass is acceptable - and where it is not!” Changing perceptions of long grass may
take many years and there are still many complaints from residents who dislike “untidy” grass, but there is now an increase in compliments, typified by one sent this summer: “I have just been admiring your wonderful
wildflowers and grasses. It is so refreshing to see something in Britain like my home meadows and gardens in Austria. Here, no one would dream of cutting verges, or even their gardens, until the flowers have all bloomed and the bees and insects are flourishing. Your policy seems to be just like here: cut the very edges of verges to assist vision on corners … as long as you keep up the good work, perhaps one day people will say Wokingham is as beautiful as Austria. Well done”. In November 2013, Simon Goff, Head of
Green Spaces and Amenities in Burnley, Lancashire, applied for, and was awarded, a substantial grant from NESTA (the National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts) via the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). These grants were intended to fund research into new management/business approaches and funding streams for parks and open
spaces to provide models for struggling councils. Eleven projects were chosen and delivered, each of a different type and with varying success rates. Burnley’s project has generally been recognised as the most successful and practically realisable model of the eleven. The key driver for Burnley Borough Council
was exploring how it could maintain the highest level of quality for its parks against the backdrop of reducing budgets. They started a process of questioning their traditional approach to horticultural maintenance and chose to explore what permaculture could offer its parks - could an understanding of the patterns and relationships in nature help reduce costs and maintain the quality of the parks, as well as produce environmental benefits? In the words of Simon Goff, the council
was moving from a culture of “controlling nature” to one of “working with nature”. This meant some land has been
transformed into meadows, whilst a proportion of the traditional seasonal bedding displays have been replaced with perennials with wildlife value to provide a year-round display. The Council worked hard to ensure a smooth transition. It focused on making the
Long grass regimes in a Burnley Green Flag park 54 I PC AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2016
A new equipment mix is needed to cope with biodiversity regimes
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