Road Maintenance

Highway Verge Mowing

Only one main cut is carried out starting on the first Monday in July and lasting for approximately 6 to 8 weeks dependent on the growth.

Before and after the main cut, safety cuts are carried out at junctions, visibility splays, bad bends and other locations where the growth restricts/impedes visibility for the road user. The safety cut before the main cut starts in the middle of May again depending on the growth.

A policy has been in place since 2011 to reduce the amount of cutting undertaken and to start the main cut later in the season to allow for wildflowers on our highway verges.

In addition the following factors are considered:

• Roadside Nature Reserves – These are identified in the verge cutting schedules and are marked on site by white marker posts on the verges. The operators are instructed not to cut the areas. Some areas are cut later in the season September/October. 
• Operators  avoid hedges clearly maintained by land owners. They are also instructed not to cut areas which contain a variety of wildflowers as long as they do not cause any safety issues to the road users.
• Operators do not cut Japanese Knotweed or any other invasive non-native species. The areas are noted and reported back to management 

Report Verge Cutting