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Council to reduce grass cutting for 'biodiversity'

Vicki Beere A picture of two baby deer playing in a meadow Vicki Beere
Two baby deer which have recently been spotted in the meadow at Northcliffe Park in Shipley.

A council has said it will extend a "no mow" policy in its parks and public grassland areas beyond a month this summer.

Bradford Council takes part in the No Mow May campaign, which encourages wildflower growth in urban areas to attract insects and other species.

Councillors have now been told that the scheme will be expanded past May despite there being "mixed" opinions on the issue.

When the BBC spoke to park users, some pointed out that it had become difficult for children to play sports in areas that had become overgrown.

Aisha Iqbal/BBC A young woman in a long green coat stands smiling in a field with her pet dog, a grey whippet.Aisha Iqbal/BBC
Leah Dever - picured with pet dog Goose - says the no-mow approach is "a great idea"

Green Party councillor Anna Watson, who sits on the cross-party environment panel that has been discussing the plans, said: "It's about understanding how to create areas which work for people and nature at the same time."

Bradford Council declared a "biodiversity emergency" in July 2023 and stated its intention to "make our neighbourhoods and green spaces more nature-friendly".

As a result, 190,000 sq.m of grass was left uncut last year.

However the authority also faced criticism on the issue - after claims the "one size fits all" approach was causing problems in areas where children play.

The BBC spoke to families and dog walkers at Northcliffe Park in Shipley, one of the main test sites for the "no-mow" approach, where several grassed areas were left uncut.

The park now has a flourishing meadow where baby deer have been among the recent sightings, but there were still some concerns.

Leah Dever, out walking with pet dog Goose, said embracing the no-mow principle was a "great idea" and it had increased wildlife significantly in the park.

"I see the deer most mornings. I've seen owls, I've seen woodpeckers. There's so much wildlife in this park that I've never seen anywhere else. "

Aisha Iqbal/BBC A smiling young man in his 20s or 30s, brown haired and with a short beard, stands in the middle of a field. He is holding a baby boy who is wearing a blue patterned puffy romper suit.Aisha Iqbal/BBC
Luke Terry, with baby Rowan, said the access needs of young families need to be considered

Young father Luke Terry, out for a walk with his baby son Rowan and dog Millie, also saw benefits to the policy but stressed the need to accommodate different park users.

"It's nice when it goes wild, yes, but in some places kids want to play sports, and getting the grass mowed would be good," he said.

"We don't need pristine lawns everywhere, but I guess it just depends on the park and how people use it."

Meanwhile, long-time local resident Andrew Roe was very cautious about any expansion.

"Not cutting it doesn't make it viable for families," he said. "This is a family park. The birds and bees have got plenty of space in other areas."

He also feared the policy could set a precedent for a reduction in park maintenance.

Aisha Iqbal/BBC An older man with a white beard and wearing a bobble hat and coat, stands next to a wooden fence adjacent to a park. There's a public path to the other wide of him which is lined with trees, A children's play area can be seen in the background.Aisha Iqbal/BBC
Andrew Roe said he was worried the lack of mowing was a way to reduce expenditure on parks maintenance

A council report into No Mow May admitted "there are differing opinions" on its value and success in Bradford.

Its regeneration and environment scrutiny committee was told on Tuesday that in the future there would likely be a greater focus on permanently "naturalising" certain areas of parks, rather than letting grass grow for one month of the year.

The report said: "The council recognise it does pose some difficulties - equipment can often struggle with cutting such long grass and areas are left looking untidy following the cut due to the length of the grass.

"This can cause complaints from local residents.

"Following careful consideration, we have amended our No Mow May sites for 2025 and where possible, will install visible signage explaining about No Mow May in the areas we are leaving to naturalise for the month."

The report also stated that maintenance costs had increased in part because of older machinery that needed to be replaced.

Views expressed by councillors included that explanatory signage needed to be installed and that people had complained about hayfever and the number of flies when the grass was longer.

The authority's principal parks and green spaces development manager, Mark Priestley, said: "To many, No Mow May seems an excuse for councils to not mow the grass.

"We'd like to move away from No Mow May to a wider no-mow policy - building up biodiversity in particular sites. That is better than just not cutting grass for a month."

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