WORKFORCE pressures mean Kirklees residents can expect to see the amount of times grass is cut at public spaces scythed back.

The Council’s Grounds Maintenance Team’s 70 full-time employees are responsible for the upkeep of the majority of greenspaces across the borough. However, mounting pressures mean that cutbacks may need to be made, resulting in Kirklees’ grass being cut less often.

This isn’t the first time the Council has made cuts to its grounds maintenance department as £1.3m was axed from the budget in 2015. This saw grass cutting occur less frequently and grass verges allowed to grow wild.

The maintenance team has said that expectations of their services are increasing and that their workload rose by the equivalent of 33 full-time employees between March and October.

The impact of climate change was also said to add additional pressure, resulting in a longer growing season and therefore more required maintenance.

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Another difficulty stems from recruitment with the team currently having a 20 per cent vacancy rate and having a hard time attracting new workers. This is made more problematic as the current workforce is said to be ageing.

Budget pressures are also being felt which have led to delays in purchasing new vehicles and machinery.

The issues are outlined in a council report and will be discussed by Kirklees Council’s Economy and Neighbourhood’s Scrutiny Panel next week.