Parks grass cutting

We have a dedicated team of staff who deal with grounds maintenance in our parks. This includes grass cutting.  

The team work hard to make sure popular areas in parks have a standardised cut. This creates easy access for park users for exercising, playing or walking.  

In very hot weather, we cut the grass more often to reduce the risk of fires. BBQs are not permitted in any of our parks. 

There are sections of some of our parks where we let the grass grow and only cut it once a year in August. 

We are not neglecting these areas. Leaving the grass to grow longer has a positive impact on the environment. 

We've created a map for each of these parks so it's clear where these wilder areas are.

Download the grass cutting map of our parks

Map key

• Amenity - grass cut every two weeks
• Meadow - grass cut every eight weeks and wildflowers and plants left to grow
• Conservation - grass cut once a year to help wildlife thrive

When left to grow, long grass can become a home for a huge amount of animals and insects.  

Nurturing biodiversity is very important. We want to set an example for other boroughs and encourage wildlife to thrive in our green spaces.   

Cemeteries grass cutting

We have a dedicated team of grounds maintenance staff who cut the grass in our five cemeteries. 

We manage specific areas of the cemeteries as conservation areas. These encourage wildflowers and wildlife in our cemeteries. 

We only leave areas to grow around graves that no longer have registered next of kin. If you think the grass around a grave you visit is too overgrown, email parks@royalgreenwich.gov.uk or call 020 8856 0100.

The team aims to cut the grass across all our cemeteries every 8 weeks. When good weather encourages the grass to grow faster, we look to hire more staff to manage this work. 

The team is also trialling a new strimmer head to help cut the grass between graves. This will help reduce grass cuttings spreading onto memorial stones. 

Housing estate grass cutting

We have dedicated teams who cut the grass and maintain the grounds on our housing estates. 

We have housing estates in four areas of the borough. We aim to cut the grass to the same standard in each.  

We make sure to use our staff and resources well across all areas. We will move staff from one area to another if there is an unplanned shortage.  

This helps us make sure we maintain standards across all estates.