Grass cutting in Hailsham: who is responsible?

The contracting for the cutting of grass by East Sussex County Council for most of the highway verges in Hailsham, is from April to November. Town councillors agreed at a recent meeting to fund an additional four cuts, totalling six cuts over the course of the current year.

Weather permitting, the first urban grass cut is scheduled to take place on Monday 25th March.

The Town Council arranges grass cutting in areas of land owned by the Town Council including Hailsham Country Park, Western Road Recreation Ground, Maurice Thornton Playing Field, Hailsham Cemetery and the Common Pond.

It does not make arrangements for grass to be cut on privately owned estates such as Harmers Hay, on developments that have not been adopted by the District, County or Town Council, or on local authority housing estates such as Town Farm, which is the responsibility of Wealden District Council.

"The Town Council currently shares payment costs for grass cutting services on public highways and footpaths with the County Council," said Cllr Mary Laxton, Chair of the Town Council's Assets Management Committee. "Although environmental issues are of principal concern, the majority of urban grass cutting is actually carried out for highway safety reasons rather than aesthetic purposes."

"Hailsham Town Council recognises the importance of maintaining a reasonable standard of grass cutting throughout the town and works with contractors in order to continually improve services and ensure value for money."

Positive feedback was received by Hailsham residents over the past two years concerning grass verge cutting exercises, some of the cuts having been funded by the Town Council and carried out by chosen contractors.

Cllr Laxton added: "Some verges in the town are cut regularly but others, due to a reduction in the number of scheduled cuts, grow so long that they could pose a danger to the public - as well as being an eyesore. I'm pleased that town councillors agreed to fund additional cuts again this year and equally as pleased to hear the positive feedback from residents concerning most cuts in recent years, which were thorough and of considerably higher quality than before."

Residents in Hailsham who have any enquiries regarding the responsibility or standard of grass cutting on roadside verges, parks and public open spaces should contact East Sussex County Council (Highways) on 0345 60 80 193.