Meadow Maintenance Guide

Field voles and wood mice live at ground level, in tunnels and nests woven into the base of the sward. The cut must let animals move out ahead of the machine rather than be trapped or shredded.

1. Never cut below 100 mm. Vole runs, nests and shrew tunnels sit in the bottom 5–8 cm of the sward. A high cut passes above them.
2. Cut from the centre outwards, or in one direction towards uncut ground. Never spiral inwards from the outside.
3. Work slowly: walking pace, under 5 mph. Speed is the single biggest cause of mortality.
4. Use a cutter bar, scythe or reciprocating mower where possible. Avoid flails and rotary decks on the meadow body.
5. Cut in two stages, at least two weeks apart. Take roughly half the meadow at a time so displaced animals always have standing cover.
6. Leave 10–20% uncut as winter refuge, in a different position each year. Do not leave any patch uncut for more than two years.
7. Walk the ground first. Check for hedgehogs, amphibians and nests, especially in tussocky and damp areas.
8. Avoid dawn, dusk and wet ground. Small mammals are most active at either end of the day, while wet ground compacts and ruts.

The spur and circular viewing area are amenity grass, not meadow.

Include them in the regular grounds-maintenance round every 3–4 weeks from March to October. Cut to 50–75 mm and collect the clippings so nutrients are not thrown into the meadow edge.

Keep the path a consistent width of roughly 1.2 m with clean edges. A crisp, obviously intentional path tells visitors the long grass around it is deliberate. Blow or rake clippings back onto the mown route, never into the standing sward, and keep strimmers and chemical treatment well clear of planted areas.

Japanese knotweed

Zig-zag bamboo-like stems, shield-shaped leaves in flat sprays, and creamy flower tassels in late summer.

Giant hogweed

Up to 4 m tall, with a purple-blotched bristly stem and huge, flat white umbels. Sap burns skin: do not touch.

Himalayan balsam

Hollow reddish stems, leaves in whorls of three, pink slipper-shaped flowers, and pods that fire seed when touched.

Rhododendron ponticum

A dense evergreen shrub with thick leathery leaves and trusses of purple trumpet flowers in late spring.

Once reported, the council's Greenspace Development Officer confirms identification, marks the stand out of bounds and arranges treatment by a suitably qualified contractor. Japanese knotweed and giant hogweed must not be moved off site as ordinary green waste: that is a legal duty, not just good practice.