At first glance it seemed that Kirklees Council’s grass cutting cuts had been taken to extremes.
Retired council gardener Peter Fawcett was dismayed when he saw that weedkiller had been sprayed around the edges of grass verges, leaving a swathe of dead grass.
The unsightly yellow peril was feared to be part of the council’s new grass cutting pilot being tested out in the face of £1.3m in budget cuts.
Mr Fawcett, 66, who worked for Kirklees Council for 32 years, said the council had used weedkiller on edges and around trees for many years — but never like that.
“Some of the weedkilling I have seen is at least a foot to 18 inches wide,” he said. “It seems that rather than cut the grass the council would rather kill it off.
“If it’s not a deliberate policy it shows a real lack of skill. And I don’t see how it can be saving money either because weedkiller is very expensive.”
Mr Fawcett spotted the weedkilling nightmares in and around Batley including Central Estate and Thomas Street.
Kirklees Council has undertaken a pilot scheme where mowing has been reduced to once a month in places while some parks and open spaces have been left to grow wild.
In some parks — such as Knowl Park in Mirfield — only part of it has been cut, much to the anger of dog walkers and local residents.
The council has launched a public consultation on the mowing changes and a report is being prepared for the ruling Cabinet on July 28.
In a new twist, community-spirited people in Mirfield are taking direct action over the cuts — with strimmers and mowers.
The long grass in Knowl Park has provoked much debate on Facebook and a new group, Friends of Mirfield, has been set up by recruitment company boss Martyn Connell.
Martyn, 46, is taking his strimmer to the park at 11am on Sunday and has invited willing volunteers to join him.
“It’s not a organised event, it’s just a random invitation to come along,” he said. “I’ll be there with my strimmer and I hope other people will join me for an hour or two and help make a difference.
“It’s not a protest, it’s about people making the place a bit better. It’s about showing that we, as a community, are willing to pick up the baton in the face of council cuts.”
Kirklees Council denied the weed-killing was linked to the cuts and a spokesman said: “It has been the standard practice to apply weedkiller to control grass edges and keep growth within the grass plots for many years.
“It helps prevent the grass spreading to paths and also stops long grass growing along wall bottoms and around obstacles.
“Most sites across Kirklees have the grass edges maintained by this method. On this occasion it appears that the maintenance team have unfortunately used a more liberal application of weed killer. This is an oversight and is not reflective of our standard practice.
“We recognise that the areas affected do not look very attractive and apologise for any upset that has been caused.”
On plans for Mirfield’s ‘big mow’ the spokesman added: “We warmly welcome discussions with community groups who are keen to volunteer and help maintain our parks and open spaces.
“We recommend that interested groups should contact us in advance not only so that we can plan and co-ordinate activities in a safe and managed way but to ensure that individuals don’t expose themselves to any unforeseen liability as a result of their activities.”
