Update on Grass Cutting

This message forwarded on behalf of Crawley Borough Council regarding work carried out by the Network Services Team.

Dear Crawley Resident

The Neighbourhood Services Team has been busy every day since the start of the pandemic. They team has taken care of essential maintenance work such as litter picking, dog and litter bin emptying, fly-tip removal, graffiti and responded to any urgent grounds maintenance requests. They have also been vital in supporting the council’s emergency response at the food distribution hub at K2 Crawley, delivered thousands of leaflets across the borough, assisted the council’s waste contractor, Biffa, with bulky collections and bin deliveries and assisted the Housing Cleansing Team. Other non-essential grounds maintenance work such as grass cutting was temporarily stopped to adhere to the Government’s guidelines (i.e. grass cutting was not essential work) and to support our emergency response efforts.

On Tuesday 26 May, the teams switched from their emergency response teams back into their Patch Teams so they can continue the essential maintenance work (listed above) and begin the unenviable task of tackling the two million square metres of neighbourhood grass cutting. The grass needs to be attended to now; if it grows any more our machinery won’t be able to cut it.

The teams are currently cutting in various neighbourhoods across the town. The work will take longer than normal due to the sheer volume of grass that needs cutting and the additional safety measures and different work methods that have been introduced to protect the staff and the residents they serve. The finished quality of cut will be below the normal standard for a while; the teams are doing the best job they can in very difficult circumstances, so we appreciate your understanding at this time.

There has been a fair number of positive comments on social media and emails into the council regarding the wildflowers in roadside verges. Whilst there is growing support for wildflower areas there is a larger contingent of residents who continue to request that verges are cut. We will hopefully continue our work next winter/spring season, expanding the number of wildflower areas in places where it is appropriate.


CORONAVIRUS – WASH YOUR HANDS MORE OFTEN FOR 20 SECONDS Use soap and water or a hand sanitiser when you: • Get home or into work • Blow your nose, sneeze or cough • Eat or handle food