Grass will only be cut if it poses a road safety hazard, says DRD

The DRD was responding to a claim from an angry Kimberley Road resident that a green area in close proximity to her home has not been cut this summer.

“I am concerned because this is an area where people walk their dogs and children have then been lying in this grass,” she said.

“It is so long, it is an eyesore. It has been a couple of months since it was cut. It would not even take ten minutes.”

By comparison, she indicated that grass in the Rathcoole estate was “lovely cut”.

A spokesperson for Newtownabbey Borough Council said that it was the responsibility of the Department for Regional Development’s Roads Service to cut kerbside grass at Kimberley Road.

She advised local residents to contact Roads Service by ringing 9025 4057 to report roadside areas where grass needs to be cut.

A spokesperson for the Department for Regional Development said: “Regrettably, the agreement reached by the NI Executive over the June Monitoring has resulted in a significant cut in resource funding to the Department.

“As a consequence, routine maintenance activities must be curtailed across a wide range of functions, including grass cutting, with the limited resources available targeted on road safety issues.

“Grass cutting for the rest of this year will therefore be restricted to safety related cuts, such as maintaining visibility sightlines at road junctions and forward sight splay.

“The grass in Kimberley Road, Carnmoney, does not pose a road safety related hazard.”