Council changes who mows what
Changes are coming for those who have their grass verge mown by Waikato District Council.
With their new Grass Verge Policy – in urban areas (50kph) – mowing of verges will become the responsibility of the adjacent landowner.
The policy brings Council in line with many of its neighbouring councils, and will ring-fence costs as well as provide consistency across the district.
An exemption is available and the Council is calling for those who feel they should be exempt from mowing their verge by way of age, illness or condition of grass verge to apply for an exemption by Friday 28 October. Those who do qualify will have their verge mown at least four times per year.
Up until now, more than 670 individual grass verges have being mown across the district, excluding the former Franklin district, says general manager service delivery Tim Harty.
“This has been at a cost of more than $100,000 per year to all rate payers. We’ve been doing this for historical reasons and up until the Grass Verge Policy was adopted, we didn’t have a formal process in place to determine which verges got mown and which didn’t. This approach would have seen costs increase over time.
“By introducing this policy, Council can now consistently manage the maintenance of grass verges across the district,” he said.
To apply to be exempt from Council’s Grass Verge Policy, visit the Council website, a Council office or fill in a form which will be sent to landowners soon.
