Sports pitches and open spaces in Argyll and Bute may fall below an acceptable standard – and could even breach health and safety rules – if councillors accept a proposal to reduce grass-cutting services, a report has warned.
A proposal to consider alternative arrangements on council land is among those being considered as part of the authority’s budget plans for 2021-22.
And in a detailed report, a council executive director has said that open spaces may breach health and safety regulations if they are not properly maintained.
Four full-time posts are under scrutiny as part of the savings option, which it is claimed would save the authority £100,000 per year.
The council will decide its budget for the next financial year at a meeting on Thursday.
Executive director Kirsty Flanagan said in her report that grass-cutting frequencies, which had already been reduced, would be reduced further.
“In some locations this will include not cutting grass and allowing areas to grow wild, but for the majority of locations, such as front greens, cemeteries, playing fields etc, it will mean a reduced level in service/fewer cuts per year than are currently carried out,” she added.
“This savings proposal will reduce resilience in the area teams through a reduction in staffing.
“This service, if reduced, will affect the usability of pitches and amenity areas and increased risk of dog fouling and littering.
“There is potential that our pitches may not be acceptable if industry standards are not maintained. Additionally we may lose pitch fee income.
“It will adversely affect the appearance and impressions of our towns and villages. Our open spaces can become dangerous and at risk of breach of health and safety if not adequately maintained.”
She added that cutting the jobs would hit local resilience, since as well as cutting grass the workers also helped with tasks such as bin collections, burying the dead and roadworks.
Leave a Reply