Causeway Coast & Glens Council to spend more than £2m on vehicles and equipment including robotic lawnmowers
Causeway Coast and Glens Council is to spend more than £2 million on vehicles, plant and equipment, including a number of robotic lawnmowers, during the next financial year.
Members of March’s Environmental Services Committee were asked to approve the procurement of several items identified in Council’s Operations and Estates fleet, plant and renewal programme for 2026-27.
Council identified a required £1.74 million required operations fleet spend, which will include four new refuse collection vehicles, while £481,000 in new estate fleet purchases include £28,000 for an additional football van in Coleraine, £30,000 for a ground maintenance van for Limavady, and £35,000 for robotic lawnmowers to be used borough wide.
Members also approved a Refuse Collection Vehicle Replacement Programme to cover the period 2026-2029, which officers say will allow for replacement vehicles to be ordered in advance.
UUP councillor Richard Holmes asked how many robotic lawnmowers Council would be able to purchase for £35,000.
Director of Environmental Services, Aidan McPeake, said the number would be dependent on “the location and size, and what we’re asking them to do”.
He also noted one such lawnmower was already in operation at Council’s headquarters. “We have a trial running out at the front of Cloonavin at the minute, you may have noticed coming in,” he said.
“That’s a smallish mower, and out of that programme we’re hoping to buy about five that will be used in a variety of places, on pitches and then in open spaces as well.”
He clarified that Council would only purchase one large mower for pitches, with an estimated cost of £15,000.