Grass Cutting

 

Grass cutting services in Shetland are provided through two separate contracts. One contract covers the amenity grassed areas and the other covers rural roadside verges.

Grassed amenity areas around towns and villages are cut on a regular basis under an external contract coordinated through the Council's Environment and Building Services section. For further details about the amenity grass cutting service please contact:

Jonathan Emptage:

Tel: 01595 744898

e-mail: jonathan.emptage@SIC.shetland.gov.uk

 

The cutting of verges on rural roads is the responsibility of the Roads section. There has been a lot of controversy over the cutting of grass verges with some sections of hte community favouring regular cutting and others preferring to leave the verges uncut believing that this encourages the development of wild flower growth. After extensive debate the with lobbying from both sides of hte argument the Council adopted the following policy in 2005:

Grass verges on all rural roads will have a single cut, sometime between August and October. Mowing earlier in the summer will only occur where a particular problem exists, specifically:

• At road junctions and on the inside of bends where growth obstructs visibility;
• On single track roads where growth restricts the width of the road;
• Around obscured traffic signs; and
• In villages or sections of road where the verge is used by pedestrians.

For further enquiries about the cutting of rural roadside verges please contact:

Dave Coupe:

Tel: 01595 744104

e-mail: dave.coupe@SIC.shetland.gov.uk