Causeway Coast and Glens Council can't allow Don't Mow Let it Grow project to be used as excuse to save money, says Cllr McAuley

Don’t Mow, Let it Grow is a council-led initiative, working in partnership with DFI Roads and NIEA, which focuses on the conservation of semi-natural grassland specifically through the management of road verges and amenity grasslands.

At this month’s Leisure and Development Committee meeting, Alliance Councillor Lee Kane proposed that council identify further sites for inclusion within the borough and agrees to establish and coordinate a local Biodiversity Forum, bringing together local experts and organisations to share practice and advise council on the development and implementation of a Local Biodiversity Action Plan.

“We live in one of the most beautiful places in the world,” Councillor Kane said. “And there’s not much within our borough that can’t be described as outstanding natural beauty.”

“However, sometimes we forget that we share our borough with a huge range of species and it is our duty to protect them. The Don’t Mow, Let it Grow initiative has been active for a number of years and it does exactly what it says on the tin.

“In allowing the grass to grow, we create habitat and provide valuable food source for a whole range of insects, amphibians, birds and small mammals, and we’ve already seen the scheme having an impact on these animals.”

DUP Alderman John McAuley supported the proposal, but was concerned the scheme was used to justify council inaction in the past.

“It’s more appropriate to call it ‘don’t mow because we can’t be bothered and it would save us money’, so that’s the side of things that we need to be really insistent on,” he said.

Alderman McAuley concluded: “In the past we’ve had areas for children to play on that became unplayable because we didn’t bother cutting them, and whenever officers were asked it was ‘Don’t mow, let it grow’.

“It was undesignated, uncontrolled, it ended up just unsightly, and it was blamed on the initiative, so it’s really how we ensure that this is managed and it’s done for the right reasons and it doesn’t get used by this council to save money.”