Residents' fire fears after green not cut all year

Ken Radbourne, a resident of Churchill Grove, said he and his neighbours had seen people throw cigarette butts into the tall, dry grass, exacerbating their fire fears

Residents are concerned that a fire might start due to the length and dryness of a nearby green.

Jeannette Russell Davies said the patch of grass outside her house in Churchill Grove, Tewkesbury, has not been cut "at all" since 2024, with neighbour Ken Radbourne branding it "a wasteland".

Tewkesbury Borough Council (TBC) cut the grass on some Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) land between eight and 12 times annually before that arrangement ended earlier this year. It had expected GCC to take the work on.

GCC said its financial challenges meant it could not maintain that level of cuts but was committed to helping TBC explore alternative approaches.

The council said it had arranged for a different contractor to cut the grass in the TBC area, along with some parish councils, with long-term proposals to be debated in the autumn.

Following complaints and concerns about a new twice-yearly schedule for grass cuts, TBC has now announced a stopgap solution, investing £30,000 to increase it to four cuts a year.

Mr Radbourne said it had been "difficult" to find who was responsible for the three greens on the Churchill Grove estate.

"Both the town and borough councils said they're not responsible and GCC alluded to them being in the ownership of the developer," he said.

"The original developer of the estate ceased to exist in the 1970s."

The green has been described as an "eyesore"

Mr Radbourne added that the other two greens were recently cut, but the third is "totally unsuitable" to be cut with a domestic lawnmower.

"There are two large trees on this green; if they caught fire, they're very close to houses, and it could be quite catastrophic," he said.

Eileen Hicks said she loves her garden, which backs onto the overgrown green

Eileen Hicks said the current state of the green, which her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren played on, was "soul-destroying".

"Nobody can use it anymore," she said.

"It's such an eyesore to look out on each day... we've always kept our gardens. I love my garden."

Lisa Spivey, leader of GCC, thanked TBC for its "proactive efforts" in keeping Tewkesbury "looking its best".

"While the county council is not in a position to maintain the level of cuts TBC undertook due to our own financial challenges, we remain committed to supporting and advising TBC as they work with local communities to explore alternative approaches," she said.