Devon’s ‘weed city’ as grass grows like mad leaving locals furious

Devon locals are angry over unruly grassy areas they say are taking over parts of Plymouth. It follows one woman’s account of being “getting covered in ticks and midges” during her daily walks due to unkempt grass, with many readers also sharing their experiences.

Plymouth City Council says while it acknowledges the concerns raised by some residents, numerous others, along with environmental partners, have praised their efforts. The council explains that a small portion of grass is intentionally left “managed uncut for nature”, allowing longer grass and flowers to serve as food and shelter for insects.

One reader, Eastparky, shared: “I have just walked from the train station through the subway to town. The subway grass areas are a disgrace. To me it sums up Plymouth at the moment, run down and neglected.”

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Another commenter, Mac59, raised safety issues: “It’s all over Plymouth and Cornwall, will the council take responsibility if there is an accident because of overgrown verges and traffic islands?”

Commenting on the issue, DickRichard2 said: “The concerns of Plymouth residents are replicated all over Devon. All councils try to cover their inaction by saying the lack of grass cutting is to help the environment. Whilst that may be the case in a few areas, in general, you will see a large amount of overgrown grass and very few flowers – if any. In numerous locations all around Devon road safety is being put at risk by overgrown roadside verges and hedges. Sadly, all sorts of excuses are rolled out – but really it’s all about money!”

Marleymoo voiced their frustration stating: “The grass needs cutting now, some areas are worse than others, grass is so tall that if you are driving and coming out of minor road to a major road. Not only that it looks terrible, and when it is cut the grass blows everywhere and clogs the drains as well.”

Another reader Mottsy expressed: “Plymouth is now weed city, not ocean city. Kerbs and grass verges are full of weeds, hedges overgrown so you have to dodge them when walking on the pavements. The long so-called wild areas also end up with dog mess everywhere. Never mind about the bees, butterflies and insects, what about health hazards for kids etc?”

Council crews oversee roughly 1,000 football pitches worth of council-owned land across Plymouth, including sports fields, parks, play facilities, wildlife meadows, roadside verges and community open spaces.

A spokesperson for Plymouth City Council responded: “While we accept that some residents have concerns over how we manage the grass in Plymouth, many other residents, and indeed a number of environmental partners, have praised our efforts.”

“We manage the 700 hectares of grass in Plymouth on a 60-40 basis; that’s the majority of grass cut on a regular cycle, with the minority managed uncut for nature.”

This approach allows longer grass and flowers to provide food and homes for insects like bees, butterflies and grasshoppers, ensuring that Plymouth does its bit for the biodiversity crisis, while maintaining parks, open spaces and roadside verges. “At this time of year, the weather means that the grass will always get a bit longer between cuts and we have adapted some of our schedules to account for this.”

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