1 Overview
During the grass growing season, which falls between March and November, we cut and maintain grass verges in towns and other urban areas within 30mph speed limits, for safety and visibility reasons.
The speed of growth is influenced by varying weather conditions and this may result in longer grass between cuts.
Grass cutting in recreational areas, such as parks and in certain housing areas, is carried out by district or borough councils and/or housing authorities.
Highway verges on the A27, M23 and A23 are looked after by National Highways.
Please be aware that we are unable to cut close to parked cars, move bins or remove any other obstructions on the verges.
2 Frequency of cuts
Cut times vary each year to suit growing conditions. It takes about 4-7 weeks to cut all grass across the county.
Urban cuts
In towns and other built-up areas, we cut and maintain grass verges during the growing season, which is typically between March and November.
Rural cuts
In the countryside, or where there are no pavements, we only maintain the verges from a highway safety perspective.
Verges in rural areas receive cuts in the following order:
- one visibility splay cut for safety - five weeks during April and May
- one, one-meter-wide cut to stop grass and vegetation overhanging the road - from July to September
- one overall cut a year - from end September to beginning of December.
3 Preserving wildlife
Although we cut and maintain grass verges for safety and visibility reasons, we also try to make sure we protect the environment as much as possible.
Where safety allows, we will preserve verges as havens for rare flowers and wildlife, resulting in longer grass in certain areas. These are known as 'Notable road verges' and will remain uncut while the flowers are in bloom.
Local communities can also request a ‘Community road verge’ designation. These areas will come under a reduced cutting regime, aiming to benefit wildflower biodiversity and pollinators.
4 What happens to cuttings
We do not collect grass cuttings as the cost would restrict the number of cuts we could carry out.
We try to blow cuttings back on to the verge. Some will fall into drains or gullies but they are unlikely to block as a result.
5 Grass cutting schedule
You can also follow @WSHighways Twitter to find out where our grass cutting teams are working that day.
Please be aware that Crawley Borough Council arranges cuts in Crawley so it is not included on our schedule.
At current levels grass cutting costs less than £2.00 per person each year.
6 Report a grass safety issue
Before contacting us, first check the grass cutting schedule to see if we are due in the area soon.
Our grass cutting team work to a planned route as part of their operation. This can involve revisiting a particular road to cut the opposite side or any missed sections that weren’t previously accessible due to obstructions, such as parked cars. Please take this into consideration before raising a report of a missed grass cut.
If a roadside verge is causing a visibility issue, or is a danger for road users, let us know. You do not need an account to do this.
Report a grass cutting issue online (external link)