The Benefits

Costs

We are hopeful that over time, this approach will free up more resources to attend to other street care needs such as litter, flytipping and sign cleaning, although there may initially be initial outlays, for example, for disposal of green waste and initial machinery purchases.

We have already purchased one cut and collect machine via the Welsh Government Local Places for Nature Fund. There may also be hidden dividends from this approach through redeploying our in-house teams to other Streetcare tasks such as litter picking.

Financial and workforce resource requirements will be monitoring and kept under review as the scheme progresses. If ultimately it leads to a saving then all the better.

Improved environment

As soil nutrients decrease in a grassland ecosystem, the number of plant species that can survive increases, and the dominance of coarse grasses reduces. This produces a more diverse roadside environment for wildlife and adds to the biodiversity of the area. 

This can already be seen in practise in NPT on Harbour Way and Fabian Way, where this management has been in place for a number of years under the Conservation Sites Scheme. These stretches of road are attractive to both road users and pollinators. In fact, they are also likely to support populations of the endangered Shrill Carder Bee, which can be found in the coastal regions of the county.