Prepared by Paul Gibson Contracts Team 10/04/2015 Mowing – South Wales and Severn grass cutting programme Introduction The South Wales and Severn Waterway team are responsible for managing the vegetation within our ownership on the following navigations:- Droitwich canal – 12Km Gloucester & Sharpness canal – 27Km Stroudwater Canal at Saul Junction – 0.8Km River Severn navigation – 69Km Monmouthshire & Brecon canal – 57Km Swansea canal – 8Km Worcester & Birmingham canal – 37Km This document is an outline of the way in which we manage the grass within our ownership, an insight into why we manage it in a certain way and how our processes are delivered and administered. Of the 211km of navigation, we cut grass either one (the towing path) or both sides of the canal (usually at locks and moorings). The exceptions to this rule are the 69km of the River Severn, where we generally do not own the margins or banks of the river (apart from River Locks and Lock Islands) so the owners of the land hold all of the maintenance responsibilities. Our grass cutting is delivered through our National Vegetation and Environmental Services Contractor Fountains/OCS who employ local teams of operatives. Fountains work to CRT Health Safety and Environmental standards in delivering the grass cutting and use ride on or pedestrain mowers, strimmers or brush cutters to deliver the service we require. The method of cutting employed is dependant on the specification of cut required alongside the site constraints which may be health and safety or environment related. For example we have sections of towing path with a designation which does not permit machinery over a certain gross weight or width. Why we cut grass For safety - We need to ensure that boaters can see potential hazards as they approach them high vegetation at the waters edge can obscure structures, bridges, fallen trees and approaching craft, particualy on bends or narrow canals. For image - In areas of high usage where the canal enviroment is visually unkempt it can attract litter, fly-tipping and antisocial behaviour. We need to ensure that users and neighbours of the canal know that we care about the canal and do actively maintain it. Cutting the grass on a regular basis reminds even the most casual of user that the canal belongs to someone and that they care about what happens in that space. To halt natural succession - Where the margin between the canal edge and the towing path is left, even for a single growing season, woody plants such as bramble and tree saplings quickly develop. If left unchecked these become a costly long-term maintenance problem as a scrubby woodland edge of blackthorn, hawthorn and brambles develops. We lose both the visual link between the canal and the towing path and create safety issues for canal path users in terms of potential injury from overhanging vegetation and boaters who need locations to moor and alight from their boats. Canal cutting The majority of our routine grass cutting takes place during the mowing season, generally between March and October when the grass is actively growing. We differentiate between locks, moorings and the towing path in our approach to cutting and also take into account our minimum safety standards, areas of high and low footfall, urban verses rural and specific envronmental requirements (which may be unique to a location), plus canal edge type (hard or soft edge) and towing path type (surface or unsurfaced) and surface type.
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Mowing South Wales and Severn grass cutting programme ... · Mowing – South Wales and ... A full width cut is carried out at the end of each grass cutting season. Approximately
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Prepared by Paul Gibson Contracts Team 10/04/2015
Mowing – South Wales and Severn grass cutting programme
Introduction
The South Wales and Severn Waterway team are responsible for managing the vegetation within our ownership on the
following navigations:-
Droitwich canal – 12Km
Gloucester & Sharpness canal – 27Km
Stroudwater Canal at Saul Junction – 0.8Km
River Severn navigation – 69Km
Monmouthshire & Brecon canal – 57Km
Swansea canal – 8Km
Worcester & Birmingham canal – 37Km
This document is an outline of the way in which we manage the grass within our ownership, an insight into why we
manage it in a certain way and how our processes are delivered and administered.
Of the 211km of navigation, we cut grass either one (the towing path) or both sides of the canal (usually at locks and
moorings). The exceptions to this rule are the 69km of the River Severn, where we generally do not own the margins or
banks of the river (apart from River Locks and Lock Islands) so the owners of the land hold all of the maintenance
responsibilities.
Our grass cutting is delivered through our National Vegetation and Environmental Services Contractor Fountains/OCS
who employ local teams of operatives. Fountains work to CRT Health Safety and Environmental standards in delivering
the grass cutting and use ride on or pedestrain mowers, strimmers or brush cutters to deliver the service we require.
The method of cutting employed is dependant on the specification of cut required alongside the site constraints which
may be health and safety or environment related. For example we have sections of towing path with a designation which
does not permit machinery over a certain gross weight or width.
Why we cut grass
For safety - We need to ensure that boaters can see potential hazards as they approach them high vegetation at the
waters edge can obscure structures, bridges, fallen trees and approaching craft, particualy on bends or narrow canals.
For image - In areas of high usage where the canal enviroment is visually unkempt it can attract litter, fly-tipping and
antisocial behaviour. We need to ensure that users and neighbours of the canal know that we care about the canal and
do actively maintain it. Cutting the grass on a regular basis reminds even the most casual of user that the canal belongs
to someone and that they care about what happens in that space.
To halt natural succession - Where the margin between the canal edge and the towing path is left, even for a single
growing season, woody plants such as bramble and tree saplings quickly develop. If left unchecked these become a
costly long-term maintenance problem as a scrubby woodland edge of blackthorn, hawthorn and brambles develops.
We lose both the visual link between the canal and the towing path and create safety issues for canal path users in
terms of potential injury from overhanging vegetation and boaters who need locations to moor and alight from their
boats.
Canal cutting
The majority of our routine grass cutting takes place during the mowing season, generally between March and October
when the grass is actively growing. We differentiate between locks, moorings and the towing path in our approach to
cutting and also take into account our minimum safety standards, areas of high and low footfall, urban verses rural and
specific envronmental requirements (which may be unique to a location), plus canal edge type (hard or soft edge) and
towing path type (surface or unsurfaced) and surface type.
Prepared by Paul Gibson Contracts Team 10/04/2015
Reservoir cutting
Under the Reservoir Act 1975 we have a duty to ensure that reservoir embankments are cut to such as standard that
they can be inspected easily and to that end with have a separate national contractor who delivers this programme. We
cut the grass at Lower Bittell, Cofton and Tardebigge reservoirs three times per year and we try to retain as many of the
wild flower areas as we possibly can without compromising our duties under the act. This year our ecologist will liaise
with the reservoir engineer and reservoir cutting team in advance of the cutting to identify those areas we can safely
leave to full flower and seeding. This is a balanced decision weighing our commitment to retain and promote wild fauna
and flora against a duty to ensure safety and security of of the water within the reservoir.
Cutting of other areas
We also cut open spaces, car park verges, and honeypot sites such as Saul Junction (G&S) and Goytre Wharf (M&B).
Generally speaking these are cut less frequently than the towing path verge but we do take account of local views and
the use of the spaces concerned when devising the frequency of the cut.
Cutting the towing path line on the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal later summer 2014 (MR3a)
Cutting regime types
Because of our need to consider the safety aspects associated with the waterscape, the needs and wants of all of the
users of our canal network alongside our moral and legal obligation in preserving and actively promoting and
encouraging wildlife on our network, we cut our grass according to a number of nationally adopted regimes which were
devised by our environment team in consultation with local waterway and the contracts team in 2007 these are titled
MR1 to MR3 and are also sub-divided into suffixes A-C each with a subtle variation in specification such as height or
width of cut.
On the South Wales and Severn waterway four of the national cutting types are applied, MR1a, MR2a, MR2b and
MR3a the details of which are illustrated below:-
Prepared by Paul Gibson Contracts Team 10/04/2015
MOWING REGIME 1
MR1a is the most intensive regime we can utilise and tends to be applied to urban locations, mooring, locks and landings
honeypot sites and may also be applied to the approaches to bridges and other access points.
On the SWS waterway we cut almost 20km length to this standard during the cutting season, typically these areas are
cut every two to three weeks and in total 12 times per season.
A typical location where you will see the MR1a regime on the G&S is at Saul Junction.