Long reserve grass upsets children

Residents have complained to the council about the frequency of mowing in reserves.

Tauranga's attempt to save $50,000 by less frequent lawn mowing of council parks and reserves has come unstuck by exemptions.

Spring growth had seen grass allowed to grow so long that the council was inundated with complaints.

The role played by exemptions in helping to provoke community unrest was revealed to the council yesterday. Normal mowing schedules continued on sports fields and reserves with playgrounds.

Councillor John Robson said that by the time the exemptions were excluded from the application of the policy, the impact was bigger on the rest of the reserves than the council anticipated. It would have been nice to have been made aware of the consequences of the exemptions.

The issue came to a head yesterday when the council viewed a video of unhappy children amid the 400mm long growth of Pyes Pa's Condor Reserve. It helped convince the council to reconsider its decision made earlier this year.

The video showed Kakapo Place children making it clear what they thought about no longer being able to kick a ball and play cricket on the reserve. "We can't play ball because the grass is too long ... will you please mow the grass," one of the children said.

Parent Mark Weston told councillors that most of the grass had been allowed to grow to over 300mm, with some well above 400mm before it was cut. When the council contractor finally arrived it needed two cuts lasting an hour. Mr Weston questioned whether the council was actually saving money because it normally took 20 to 30 minutes to mow.

He said the grass grew so long that one resident was unable to walk her little dog through it. He also warned that the grass could be a fire hazard.

Councillor Matt Cowley said a lot of the issues raised by the community had been raised by council staff before the council made the decision to reduce the frequency of mowing.

City parks manager Steve Webb said they had received complaints from upset people. He explained how sports grounds were a third of their mowing and the decision to exclude sports grounds and reserves with playgrounds meant they tried to spread the savings across the whole city. More than 30 complaints had been received.

Mr Webb said the policy had not worked well on neighbourhood reserves and they were not getting the savings. The council has agreed to reconsider its mowing decision as part of the 2015-25 long-term plan.