Uncut road verges spark fears of more accidents

Government cuts in the budget for the Highways Agency, which is responsible for trunk roads in England, have led to a change in policy for grass cutting along the routes.

The policy is good for wildlife that flourishes in the long grass, but can be a pain for drivers trying to look into the distance at junctions.

Now members of one council have called on policy makers to ensure grass along main roads across the county are trimmed regularly.

Many verges are being cut as summer comes to an end, but the warm weather, followed by a wet end of August, has led to grass growing higher than normal.

This week Oswestry Town Council criticised the state verges alongside the bypass and roundabouts including, until recently, the tall grass on the Mile End Roundabout the third busiest in the county.

Mayor of Oswestry, Councillor Chris Schofield said he had had more than one complaint about the state of the Mile End roundabout and had written to the Highways Agency about a fortnight ago.

"I wonder if it is coincidence that the grass has now been cut," he said. Councillor Paul Milner took a motion to Wednesday's town council meeting saying he was seriously concerned about the condition of both the Mile End and Gobowen roundabouts during 2013.

Members called for verges to be kept under control across the county.

Earlier this year Pant and Llanymynech Parish Council highlighted the lack of grass cutting on verges on the A483.

Councillor Dilys Gaskill said that parish council contractors had cut verges in regularly but at the boundary of the trunk road the grass had been up to five feet tall in places.

A Highways Agency spokesperson said: "We have a programme in place for grass cutting which includes safety-critical areas such as junctions and visibility for signs, but we do not routinely cut all verges.

"We are talking to local councillors, county councillors and the Shropshire Highways team to discuss the levels of maintenance and how we can all work better together."