Grounds maintenance

An area of my estate hasn't been cut

This could be because:

• it is suffering from a problem such as localised water logging
• it is not always possible to finish a whole estate in one day and the team may need to come back the next day to finish off
• the land may belong to someone else, such as Hampshire County Council, Sentinel Housing Association or Sovereign Housing Association or a developer
• the area has wild flowers and/or bulb plantings and is cut on a different frequency
• it may require a smaller pedestrian mower or may be cut by larger equipment such as a tractor fitted with gang mowers

Grass cuttings not being removed

The quantities of grass cuttings from the borough would amount to thousands of tonnes a year, removal of which would result in unacceptable costs and increase our carbon footprint. The cuttings add nutrients (nitrogen) into the ground, which strengthens the grass and improves growth.

Cutting grass verges outside of your house

You should be aware of the possible risk of injury to yourself, passing pedestrians and traffic. If you would like to do this you are advised to contact us. You will also need to contact us if you wish to stop maintaining any area.

Grass cutting in rural areas

We cut grass in the borough’s rural towns and villages, such as Tadley, Overton, Whitchurch and Kingsclere, but do not mow verges adjacent to high speed roads such as the B3400, A340 and the A339. These are the responsibility of Hampshire County Council.

Property damage from grass cutting

If you consider that your property has been damaged by an employee of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, please contact us.

Spring flowering bulbs

Over the years we have planted thousands of spring flowering bulbs throughout the borough which are not mown until June once the blooms have naturally died back.

This enables us to increase our bulb stock every year and provides a very early nectar source for pollinators boosting the borough’s biodiversity.

Uncut verges and areas

As part of our biodiversity action plan a number of verges and areas around the borough are left uncut. This allows rare wildflowers, such as orchids, to flourish and provides food for a variety of insects. These areas are cut once in the late summer/autumn to prevent course grasses from taking over.

Wildflower meadows

Some sites are being managed as wildflower meadows to provide vital habitats for pollinators and other invertebrates as well as birds and small mammals. Annual mowing is an essential part of this management.

Sites include:

• Tollhouse Meadow, Chineham
• Crabtree Plantation
• Down Grange Meadow
• Old Down
• The Knowlings
• Bere Hill
• Wildlife Area, Eastrop Park
• The Lip, War Memorial Park
• The Mill Field
• Garrett Close, Kingsclere

Wildflower plants thrive in areas with low nutrient levels where faster-growing plants such as grasses and thistles are unable to dominate. To create the right conditions, we mow the grass and remove all the cuttings, reducing the amount of nutrients returned to the soil. We mow late in the summer which gives the wildflowers time to produce and set seed for the following year.

Transporting all the cuttings off site is time consuming and expensive, so we leave them in a designated area which is out of the way to decompose over time. Leaving the cuttings in this way allows any bugs which were accidentally collected during mowing to escape. They also serve as habitat for many animal species themselves.

If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact wildlifeconservation@basingstoke.gov.uk