The Buckingham Town Council green spaces team are spending the last week of March cutting the grass on road verges alongside the bypass and other strips of highway land in Buckingham; giving the area a clean, fresh look and maintaining a good level of highway visibility for vehicles.
This is the last time Buckingham Town Council will cut these verges before responsibility for maintaining these areas passes back to Buckinghamshire Council on 1st April 2024.
Responsibility for verge grass cutting, hedges, pavement weed spraying etc lies with Buckinghamshire Council who is the statutory body in charge of the maintenance of these areas. Buckingham Town Council had been performing these duties on behalf of Buckinghamshire Council but made the decision on 18th March 2024 that, for financial reasons, it was unable to renew the devolved services agreement that covered this arrangement.
Buckingham Town Council will continue to maintain its own parks and green spaces, including Chandos Park, Bourton Park and the Cemetery to its usual high standards. To contact the Town Council about these areas email office@buckingham-tc.gov.uk or call 01280 816 426.
Any questions regarding verges, hedges, trees, weed spraying, rights of way etc should be directed to Buckinghamshire Council. You can contact Buckinghamshire by using fixmystreet.buckinghamshire.gov.uk or call 0300 131 6000.
Cllr. Anja Schaefer, Buckingham Town Mayor, said that “This was not a decision taken lightly by the town council. However, after a thorough discussion of the matter, the council decided by a large majority that we could not continue doing this work for Buckinghamshire Council at a loss, thereby effectively asking the people of Buckingham to pay for it twice. The Town Council has no expectation of making a profit from devolved services, but we do need to get close to breaking even.”