'Medway Council Hid the True Reason Behind the Lack of Grass Cutting' - say the Liberal Democrats

In May this year, Medway Council joined many other councils and members of public across the country in undertaking 'No Mow May', which encourages people not to cut their lawns during May to allow more flowers for bees to feed on. Medway Liberal Democrats supported them in this as this campaign is a vital tool in helping to halt the declining numbers of British bees, who are essential for pollinating our food crops.

However, many Medway residents could not help noticing that the council's lawns continued to be uncut long after May had ended, which soon became overgrown and dangerous to road users, and led to many residents complaining.

The council leader Cllr Jarrett was quick to respond to these complaints, blaming it all on 'No Mow May' and saying the campaign will not return next year. This led to uproar from many residents who are deeply concerned about Medway's falling biodiversity. A petition to continue the campaign was established by Medway Liberal Democrat campaigner Stuart Bourne, and not long after Cllr Jarrett reversed his decision and said 'No Mow May' would return next year.

However a recent published report by Medway Norse, the company part owned by Medway council and who looks after our green-spaces, stated the true reason for the lack of grass cutting after May was that they have a shockingly low amount of staff.

The report states: 'Medway Norse have faced a challenging year, due to a late and extended growing season and staffing issues since early May 2021, with about 20% reduction in staff due to recruitment and retention issues. This made the catch up following No Mow May harder than anticipated and led to delays in grass cutting this spring and summer.

So instead of being honest with Medway residents in the reason why grass verges across Medway were left uncut for months, Cllr Jarrett decided to shift the blame onto a vitally important environmental campaign. This shows a complete disrespect to Medway residents who do not appreciate being misled to save this Conservative administrations face, and disregard to the importance of environmental issues in Medway.

Stuart Bourne, a Medway Liberal Democrat campaigner says 'I am equally shocked and unsurprised by Cllr Jarrett's actions. I've always known his ego doesn't allow for him to admit he gets anything wrong, but to mislead the public just so he can hide the troubles of a company part owned by the council is a step too far. No Mow May is a vital campaign that attempts to stop our bees from dying out, it shouldn't be used a scapegoat for this council's failings.'

Medway Liberal Democrats are calling on Cllr Jarrett to apologising for misleading the Medway public and reaffirm his commitment to the 'No Mow May' campaign. We would also like to know what he and Medway Norse plan to do about the shockingly low level of staff numbers to ensure our greenspaces do not become overgrown wastelands.

ENDS