A pain in the grass! County council leader criticises Boston Borough Council over grass verge maintenance

Hessle Drive was one area highlighted to The Standard by readers where grass verge maintenance was an issue.

The leader of Lincolnshire County Council has strongly criticised Boston Borough Council for its management of the town’s grass verges, describing the situation as a ‘mess’.

On Friday, the borough council published a statement saying it had ‘recently returned’ the responsibility of cutting grass verges to the county council, after holding it since 2016.

The aim of the statement was to highlight how the job of grass cutting and grounds maintenance in the area was shared between different bodies.

In response, a number of residents aired their frustrations over the state of grass verges on social media.

Neighbouring Thornton Avenue where the road sign is competing with the grass to be seen.

However, the guidance also prompted a rebuke from the leader of Lincolnshire County Council, Coun Martin Hill, who said: “The borough's extremely late decision to stop cutting the grass this summer has meant we now find ourselves in a catch-up situation which is not of our making.”

He said the timing of their decision to not cut the grass had not only been ‘surprising’ to the county council, but has left Boston residents and businesses “suffering the effects of a ‘no first cut’ of the year”.

He added: “We are currently carrying out a deep cut in the area to address the issues that the borough's withdrawal on the agreement has left behind. We’re on-site and doing what we can with the sheer volume of grass that needs dealing with.

“Whilst we are stepping up to deal with the mess Boston Borough has created, it’s worth reminding anyone with visibility safety issues at junctions and bends to continue to report them to us. This can be done via either the LCC (Lincolnshire County Council) Customer Service Centre or on Fix My Street.”

In response, the borough council said the handover was communicated as soon as the county council confirmed its capacity and readiness to take over the maintenance, and that it ensured that essential and responsive maintenance was carried out until the agreed date of transition. It added: “We understand that adjustments during such transitions can be challenging, and we remain committed to supporting LCC in maintaining the standards expected by our residents.”