No Mow May push was 'probably too ambitious', says Warwick District Council

The national scheme, piloted by the authority this year, saw the cutting of many grassed areas suspended to encourage the growth of plants and wildflowers and create better habitats for insects.

The authority acknowledged at the end of June, work to catch up on cutting had been hampered by weather conditions which also prompted increased growth, prompting a perfect storm in which the usual machinery was not up to the job when mowing resumed.

The ripple effect was delays in cutting in some areas way beyond the end of May with the frustration of residents reflected in a survey that attracted more than 4,000 responses.

The council’s overview and scrutiny committee considered an internal review of the project this week.

The report notes that “it was agreed to suspend grass cutting in all areas” with the exception of cemeteries, sports pitches, premier parks and grass paths.

Among the changes proposed for next year are to exclude all council-owned housing sites and “very small highway verges”, to mow one-metre strips in parks and open spaces to help with litter and dog mess, reduce the number of areas to avoid staff burnout when cutting resumes and to ensure adequate equipment is available to catch up.

Plans to consult with Warwickshire County Council earlier and allow residents to put forward areas to be excluded from the project are also included.

Steve Partner, the council’s head of neighbourhood and assets, said: “I think it is fair to say we took the plunge quite late in the process, and it was done with the very best of intentions of saving little creatures and plants.

“We have learned a lot from the process.

"We recognise there are some issues and we can hopefully do something that is more targeted for next year.”

Committee chair Councillor Andrew Milton said: “The impression I got from all the data was that, as a council, we decided to go as big as we could, to pretty much stop mowing everything apart from a few bits.

“When we look at other councils, it seems that they are doing a slightly more targeted approach.”

Zoe Court, the council’s neighbourhood services manager, replied: “We did go big and we did go bold but at no point did anyone raise any concern about catching up.

“We wanted to make a statement, we have announced the climate emergency and have the biodiversity action plan, we wanted to go big on this.

“The decision was made quite late but it was made with the approval of the various leaders and set up with a new project team with someone from climate change, someone from Idverde (the council’s contractor), someone from green spaces and myself, so it was very much a joint decision.

“If we knew what we know now, we would have scaled it right back. I hold my hands up, we were probably too ambitious.”

However, Councillor Matt Collins applauded the approach.

“I think it is a good thing to fail fast, to try it and see what will happen, and we have learned quite a lot through this process,” he said.

“We are not going to make the same mistakes next year.”