Agenda item

The purpose of this report is to provide Members with information following debate on the motion put forward by Councillor Michaels and agreed at the Leisure, Environment and Community Committee of 24 November 2021, regarding alternative grassland management for the benefit of biodiversity.

The report and Appendix C includes potential costs as a minimum, to aid consideration by Policy & Resources Committee.

The purpose of this report was to provide Members with information following debate on the motion put forward by Councillor Michaels and agreed at the Leisure, Environment and Community Committee of 24 November 2021, regarding alternative grassland management for the benefit of biodiversity.

The report and Appendix C includes potential costs as a minimum, to aid consideration by Policy & Resources Committee.

The Chair advised the Committee that it was being considered moving an amendment to the recommendation as follows:

“Members agree that, subject to the Biodiversity Opportunities Audit report, appropriate budget provision to be made in the forthcoming Council budget for alternative grassland management, acknowledging that there are a variety of options, and that a further report come back to this Committee in March on the options being implemented. A public consultation exercise be undertaken post implementation of the revised regime to assess the impact.”

Councillor Phil Williams, the Lead Member, moved the amended recommendation.  They advised that the financial implications of the motion was within the remit of this Committee. They supported the motion but needed to find the best way to achieve what the motion was asking.  We needed to obtain specialist advice from experts in grassland management before the motion was implemented.  It was important to survey the grassland and find out what flowers, flora and wildlife was there and find the best way to manage it.  Before the motion was put forward the Council already had 55% of its available grassland under conservation management regimes, 22% meadow cut and lifted, 22% was cattle grazed and meadow, 8% woodlands and the other 4% of other different things.  The Council had already commissioned a biodiversity audit which was undertaken last year over the summer which would be presented to the Committee in March.  Should the Committee pass the financial aspect of the motion tonight, without taking into account the biodiversity survey, we would be at risk of lessening the Districts biodiversity not increasing it.  The motion proposed depended on resources and the size of the site of grassland needed to be cut with the proposal being all at once, but was this correct?  Cutting an entire grassland in one removes valuable food sources for insects, mammals and birds.  It is good practise in certain circumstances to leave some grass uncut in the winter so they can feed on this.  The Council also needed to deal with thistles, nettles and ragwort which can all be poisonous to animals and difficult to harvest.  Let’s wait for the audit and see what the specialists tell us to do, how we do it and when to do it.  The type of cutting equipment we require would depend on the size of the grassland and its nature and one size does not fit all.  Cut and lift was not for everything.  Members were aware of Croxley Common Moor where some of the ant hills were over 600 years old.  What would happen if a tractor went over those ant hills?  The Council needed to look at this holistically.  They urged the Committee to vote for the amendment to the recommendation until all the full facts were presented.  This needed to be fact based and science led.

Councillor Stephen Giles-Medhurst seconded the amended recommendation and wished to make clear what the amended recommendation meant.  The Council had its budget setting meeting scheduled for 22 February.  In order for any of this work to go forward the Council needed to have both capital and revenue funding in the budget.  This commitment tonight was to get that funding put in the budget so that this work can go forward.  The budget may need to be amended during the course of the financial year but Members needed to bear in mind a report would be coming back to Committee in March on the implementation, including the types of equipment needed and number of staff.  We have no other option but to do this if we support biodiversity and saving our planet.  There will be some people who don’t like the grass not being cut.  We will have a post implementation consultation to assess the impact on what we do put into place.

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 35(b) a member of the public spoke in support of the motion.

Members made the following comments:

•           Understand about biodiversity, checking the sites first and ordering equipment but these can be done after the motion is passed.  We should have already received the costings.  The motion was unanimously agreed in November.  There was no indication in the costings if we could share equipment, the Parishes were already doing some bailing.  Understood there is a budget commitment here but we can all agree to pass this motion tonight.

•           Could not understand that a policy which stated we are looking to cut the grass less was going to cost more and wondered why we don’t have this equipment if we are cutting the grass already.

•           The original motion was passed in November.  What the report does was reconfirm that motion was passed and that a recommendation be made from this Committee to make the budget provision which will go to the next Council meeting to allocate the budget.

•           Members were not here to debate the motion as the motion was agreed unanimously in November we are here to debate the way forward to implement the motion.  When the grass cutting season starts we need to have in place the results of the biodiversity audit, the equipment required and the management plan for it, the Council had already appointed a Biodiversity Officer and were looking to appoint a second officer in order to help manage this.  All that was being deferred was the results from the biodiversity audit to be reported to the Committee in March which all Members would have the opportunity to make comments on.

The Head of Community Services advised that the Council were not cutting grass at the moment and would not start in April so there would be no delay.  If the recommendation was accepted tonight a paper would be brought back to the March meeting with the biodiversity audit results, an action plan and costs and it would make sense to wait until we have this information.  There was more than just cut and lift there were other options which would be put forward on around 60 sites for Members to consider.  On the 10 pilot sites it was the intention to continue those for another year. 

The Chair advised that the first time the funding could be provided would be the February Council meeting. We use different equipment to cut short grass than we do for long grass.  Until we see the audit we don’t know what equipment will be needed and the costings for that equipment. 

On being put to the Committee the amended motion was declared CARRIED by the Chair the voting being unanimous.

RECOMMEND:

Agreed that, subject to the Biodiversity Opportunities Audit report, appropriate budget provision to be made in the forthcoming Council budget for alternative grassland management, acknowledging that there are a variety of options; and

RESOLVED:

That a further report come back to this Committee in March on the options being implemented. A public consultation exercise be undertaken post implementation of the revised regime to assess the impact.