Mowers Battle Spring Grass

A perfect combination of humidity and moisture has combined to produce the best spring flush we've experienced in years.

The result is fast growing grass - so fast that our mowing and vegetation control teams are struggling to keep up with growth on roadsides across the city.

The increased growth means they are taking longer than usual to complete their scheduled runs.

The Council's Mowing Team Manager, David Grace, says complaints have been coming in thick and fast - indeed, our contact centre has received 70 calls since 1 November.

"Please bear with us - we're using all available resources to bring this under control as quickly as possible," says David.

The grass on sportsfields is also growing rapidly as is the growth on the side of the roads.

Our Sportsfields Manager, Trevor Jackson, says while summer sport is well under way participants are playing in conditions far from ideal.

"The weather has played havoc as Council staff battle to prepare sportsfields," says Trevor.

"Some sports have been affected more than others - cricket being the hardest hit with longer than desired grass on the outfields and soft pitches.

"We're working hard to prepare surfaces as best we can but we could do with a good dry spell to get back to where things should be.

"We hope sporting clubs understand the situation and ask that players please be patient."