Councils across the country are being urged to follow in the footsteps of Rotherham Borough Council and plant wildflower verges instead of mowing the grass to help encourage wildlife.
A Twitter post highlighting Rotherham’s work to plant eight miles of wildflower verges – which have reportedly saved £25,000 in mowing costs – garnered more than 35,000 likes, with many users tagging in their own local authorities to suggest the idea.
This is Rotherham where council have planted 8 miles of wild flower verges. It has saved 25k in mowing costs. These photos posted by British Beekeeping Association! pic.twitter.com/ZQrBKEdqVk
— Quentin Abel (@QuentinTatton) June 15, 2019
With the interest in allowing wild flowers to grow and help wildlife and insects, it was only a matter of time before Transport for Bucks – which is responsible for road maintenance, including grass cutting alongside the road network – was approached for their views.
Photo by Carlene O'Rourke of the Bucks Free Press Camera Club
A group of residents living in Richings Park in the south of the county said wild flower planting “might be worth exploring”, claiming that since the number of annual grass cuts in the county were lowered, “the beauty of our county has diminished”.
They added: “Weeds have taken over and become an overgrown and unattractive part of our roadsides”.
Photo taken by Mark Lewis of the Bucks Free Press Camera Club
In response, Bucks County Council said they currently have no policy regarding wild flowers on verges in urban areas but added that they are “aware of the current growing interest from residents and use by other authorities”.
They also said: “If it would be of interest to increase the number of wildflower areas both in urban and rural areas within Bucks, we recommend you contact your County Councillor.
Photo by Michael King of the Bucks Free Press Camera Club
“There isn't currently a wildflower policy in the county but this could change in the future.”
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