Newcastle Labour is introducing new bee-friendly verges across the city as part of its work to increase biodiversity and create greener neighbourhoods.
The Labour-led council’s new Bee Friendly Verges initiative will change the way selected areas of grass are managed, allowing wildflowers and other plants to flourish and providing better habitats for bees, butterflies and other wildlife.
Sites have been selected following expert advice from Butterfly Conservation, with bee-friendly verges being introduced across Newcastle, including in Elswick, Benwell, Denton, Woolsington, Heaton, Jesmond and Gosforth.
Under the new approach, mowing at selected sites will be reduced by as much as 75%, with some verges cut just two or three times a year instead of the usual eight.
Labour has also invested in a new specialist ride-on mower which can collect grass cuttings as it works.
Removing the cuttings will reduce the fertility of the soil over time, creating better conditions for wildflowers to establish and providing additional food and habitat for pollinating insects.
Each of the new bee-friendly verges will be identified by signs featuring a photograph of a native bee, helping residents understand why grass is being allowed to grow differently in those locations.
As well as improving biodiversity, reducing the amount of mowing will cut greenhouse-gas emissions from council machinery and reduce maintenance costs, freeing up resources for other frontline services.
The programme builds on Labour’s wider environmental work, including planting thousands of trees and creating flower and perennial meadows across Newcastle.
It will also contribute towards the city’s ambition to become Net Zero by 2030.
Cllr Clare Penny-Evans, Newcastle City Council’s Labour Cabinet Member for Communities and Climate Change, said: “By reducing the amount of grass cutting we can increase biodiversity, laying the foundations for new ecosystems that will hopefully increase the number of wildflowers we have, attracting greater numbers of insects, which in turn supports birds and other wildlife.
“That can only be a positive for the communities in which we live.”
Cllr John-Paul Stephenson, Labour Cabinet Member for Environment and Regulatory Services, said: “This is an amazing project that will contribute to the wellbeing of all of us.
“By investing in this new equipment it allows us to continue to develop our approach to how we manage the green spaces that we know residents cherish, making them more pleasant for everyone who lives there, be they families, flora or fauna.”
Labour will monitor the pilot to understand how the new approach benefits wildlife and how similar biodiversity-friendly management could be expanded across Newcastle.