Maintaining verges

We maintain grass verges and service strips. These are the small areas of grass, usually about 2m wide, that border the road in front of houses.

We mow verges in Weston-super-Mare, Portishead, Nailsea and Clevedon between March and October each year, depending on the weather. Rural verges are flail cut twice a year.

We don’t collect the cuttings but we do try to sweep or blow cuttings from the path.

Some verges are the responsibility of private housing associations such as Alliance Homes or LiveWest and so cutting regimes may be different here.

Service strips will be repaired if they are damaged and considered to be dangerous. We do not maintain grass or shrubs on service strips.

These areas are used by utility companies (providing gas, electric and water services) to install and maintain their equipment. Access should not be restricted and it is illegal to put up any structure that will either encroach or enclose the service strip.

Householders usually cut the grass in front of their house. Bulbs, or bedding plants, can be planted as long as they are not within a 1m square area of street lights.

Hedges or shrubs should not be planted in the service strip and the existing surface should not be replaced with gravel or paving.

We take no responsibility for unauthorised, uninsured work on the highway. If there is an accident, or incident, you could be held liable for damages or compensation.

We also maintain ornamental roundabouts, cutting them and pruning them throughout the year. We also apply weed killer to walls, fence lines and vehicle barriers in the winter, and strim along them in mid to late summer.

Formal flowerbeds are largely maintained by town and parish councils or local community and volunteer groups.

We manage less formal shrub beds on an ad hoc basis.