Mowing
The following proposal was put to Braunston Parish Council and was accepted.
The proposal was supported by:
Braunston Canal Society, Braunston Scout Group, Braunston Walkers, Braunston Village Gardens Association, Rev Nat White, All Saints’ Church, Jetty Fields Committee, Braunston CE School, Braunston Women’s Institute
Over recent years Braunston has had a mowing schedule in which some large areas are mown weekly and other extensive areas are mown fortnightly. Mowing as frequently as this increases costs and leads to higher carbon emissions and greatly reduces biodiversity.
The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 places a duty on government departments and public authorities in England and Wales to show regard for conserving biodiversity in all their actions. This regard must be shown on public authority managed land, including roads and verges. (Plantlife, The Good Verge Guide)
In preparing this proposal we have taken advice from Plantlife, the Wildlife Trusts, Butterfly Conservation and Wild Flower Lawns and Meadows.
In addition, we have taken advice from those who have guided changes elsewhere including Northamptonshire ACRE and Chesham Town Council.
We believe this proposal can meet the following aims:
Reduce carbon emissions that arise from land management by Braunston Parish Council. (Action 4 in the Braunston Parish Council Climate Action document)
Increase the biodiversity in areas of land managed by the Parish Council which will have a positive effect on the number and diversity of invertebrates, small mammals and birds in surrounding areas.
Maintain or reduce current levels of expenditure required to mow the land.
Achieve the support of residents, village groups and visitors for the changes in mowing and land management.
Provide examples for others of how private land such as gardens can be managed in more sustainable ways.
The proposal
We proposed that most of the areas currently mown are classified as amenity grassland and mown every three weeks. Under this regime grass should reach around 3 inches between cuts. White clover, creeping buttercup and bird’s-foot trefoil can flower between cuts at this interval, attracting pollinating bees and other invertebrates, thereby leading to greater biodiversity than with weekly or fortnightly mowing. The flowering plants mentioned can spread and flower with the current ‘cut and fly’ method of mowing. Mowing these areas every three weeks rather than weekly or fortnightly will lead to a reduction in carbon emissions and financial costs of around 50%.
Amenity grasslands are areas used for playing or as paths or verges in residential areas. In some parts of Braunston there are large areas of such land. This proposal envisages that residents may prefer that some parts of the larger areas could be converted into wildlife-rich grassland as described below. The suitability of any areas put forward would be considered before proceeding.
In specified areas we propose the creation of wildlife-rich grassland. These areas will be mown twice a year and managed in ways that support greater biodiversity.
In August 2020, the Parish Council agreed the commencement of work to establish a wildlife-rich grassland on the inside of the Butlin’s Hill bend. This work will continue, resulting in a flowery grassland that supports many more bees and other invertebrates that will in turn support a greater range of wildlife.
To achieve this, mowing is ‘cut and collect’.
The road edges of Butlin’s Hill are mown as amenity grassland to ‘frame’ the wildlife-rich grassland and indicate that the whole area is managed.
Jetty Field came under the Parish Council mowing contract in 2021. Two areas are mown, the main field and the garden. We proposed that the grass areas in the garden are maintained as amenity grassland. The same arrangement applies in the north east section of the main field which will be used for Braunston Forest School activities.
The remainder of the main field, with the exceptions mentioned below, is maintained as at Butlin's Hill.
Five rights of way, all footpaths, cross the main field which is used as a pedestrian route between the canal and the village. The field is also used a lot to exercise dogs. The footpaths are mown to a two-metre width, every six weeks. Mowing these areas is important to ‘frame’ the areas of wildlife-rich grassland.
Whilst creating wildlife-rich grassland requires less regular maintenance, i.e. mowing, it needs commitment and long-term management. We will therefore provide guidance and support. We also hope that the Parish Council will continue to take advantage of the advice and networking available to it, for example from organisations including Northamptonshire ACRE and NALC.
It is important to achieve ‘buy in’. We take responsibility for communicating information about the proposed changes through Facebook, the BVN and on-site notices and information boards. Reactions suggest public opinion is moving towards supporting more sustainable practices.
Churchyard wildlife-rich grassland
In May 2021 Braunston Brownies helped plant wildflowers. On 24th June over 30 species of grass and flowers were counted in this area.