Question:
In a move towards more areas of meadows to attract bees and insects etc, isn’t time RDC thought about not cutting the grass in some parts of large carparks to encourage wild life? Gibbet Marsh overflow carpark in Rye has a large area that is cut regularly but a lot of it could left as a meadow. It’s imperative that we preserve these areas as insects are on the decline by 80% which affects our native birds which are also in decline. (21/06/2021)
Answer:
The issue you raise about declining bird and insect populations is a concern shared by the Council and in recent years we have changed the grass cutting regimes at a number of our public open spaces across the district in order to support wildlife. A list of those sites can be found at Grass cutting, grass verges – Rother District Council. Further to your question, we have revisited the scope for leaving areas uncut at Gibbet Marsh and whilst it’s necessary to leave much of the overflow car park area available for parking, additional swathes of grass around the site boundary will now be maintained as long grass. (24/06/2021)
