Leaving patches of grass to go uncut saves the council money, a leading councillor has said.

Ian Shenton has defended Wokingham Borough Council after a number of residents have complained about overgrown public spaces.

Grass cutting across the borough has been delayed thanks to overly-wet weather in March that was unsuitable for the council’s larger machinery, which could damage the ground.

Now residents have begun to complain on social media that parts of the borough have come to look “dishevelled and unloved.”

Gareth Rees told the Earley Residents Discussion Board on Facebook that it was “virtually impossible” to walk his dog along Elm Lane Reservoir. He added: “I find it very sad to see my home town looking so dishevelled and unloved.”

And Vicky Louise told the Wokingham Residents group that grass had started to encroach onto people’s back gates on Sirius Close on Woosehill.

Now, councillor Ian Shenton – responsible for grass cutting – has said the council is trying to balance the need to keep grass short with environmental and cost-saving concerns.

He said: “We try to balance out the need to keep the grass short in areas of high use and high traffic such as playing fields, children’s play parks, junctions and roundabouts, with the environmental and ecological benefits of allowing other areas such as verges and open spaces to grow longer where we can.

“And, as our budgets are now so tight, this has become even more important. If we can save money in cutting the grass – which also benefits wildlife – we can use it on other things that our residents need more.”

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Wokingham Borough Council has said it is sending its larger machinery to cut the grass in popular parks and open spaces, while its staff work extended hours and weekends.

A statement circulated to councillors on Friday, 16 June, said grass cutting teams were prioritising “amenity spaces ensuring they are accessible for residents to enjoy.” But it said some edges may be left longer until smaller machinery and strimmers can get to them.

The council said: “Our contractors are working hard to keep up with grass growth across the borough and continue to work extended hours and weekends to achieve this.

“To increase the cutting in our high use parks and open spaces, we are sending our larger machinery to them ahead of our grass cutting teams, so these can be cut more frequently. As a result of this you might notice the main sections of grass cut with the edges left longer.

“Our teams will strim and cut the remainder of these areas when the larger team of operatives with smaller machinery and strimmers get to the site.”