Prepared by Paul Gibson Contracts Team 10/04/2015

Mowing – South Wales and Severn grass cutting programme

Introduction

The South Wales and Severn Waterway team are responsible for managing the vegetation within our ownership on the

following navigations:-

Droitwich canal – 12Km

Gloucester & Sharpness canal – 27Km

Stroudwater Canal at Saul Junction – 0.8Km

River Severn navigation – 69Km

Monmouthshire & Brecon canal – 57Km

Swansea canal – 8Km

Worcester & Birmingham canal – 37Km

This document is an outline of the way in which we manage the grass within our ownership, an insight into why we

manage it in a certain way and how our processes are delivered and administered.

Of the 211km of navigation, we cut grass either one (the towing path) or both sides of the canal (usually at locks and

moorings). The exceptions to this rule are the 69km of the River Severn, where we generally do not own the margins or

banks of the river (apart from River Locks and Lock Islands) so the owners of the land hold all of the maintenance

responsibilities.

Our grass cutting is delivered through our National Vegetation and Environmental Services Contractor Fountains/OCS

who employ local teams of operatives. Fountains work to CRT Health Safety and Environmental standards in delivering

the grass cutting and use ride on or pedestrain mowers, strimmers or brush cutters to deliver the service we require.

The method of cutting employed is dependant on the specification of cut required alongside the site constraints which

may be health and safety or environment related. For example we have sections of towing path with a designation which

does not permit machinery over a certain gross weight or width.

Why we cut grass

For safety - We need to ensure that boaters can see potential hazards as they approach them high vegetation at the

waters edge can obscure structures, bridges, fallen trees and approaching craft, particualy on bends or narrow canals.

For image - In areas of high usage where the canal enviroment is visually unkempt it can attract litter, fly-tipping and

antisocial behaviour. We need to ensure that users and neighbours of the canal know that we care about the canal and

do actively maintain it. Cutting the grass on a regular basis reminds even the most casual of user that the canal belongs

to someone and that they care about what happens in that space.

To halt natural succession - Where the margin between the canal edge and the towing path is left, even for a single

growing season, woody plants such as bramble and tree saplings quickly develop. If left unchecked these become a

costly long-term maintenance problem as a scrubby woodland edge of blackthorn, hawthorn and brambles develops.

We lose both the visual link between the canal and the towing path and create safety issues for canal path users in

terms of potential injury from overhanging vegetation and boaters who need locations to moor and alight from their

boats.

Canal cutting

The majority of our routine grass cutting takes place during the mowing season, generally between March and October

when the grass is actively growing. We differentiate between locks, moorings and the towing path in our approach to

cutting and also take into account our minimum safety standards, areas of high and low footfall, urban verses rural and

specific envronmental requirements (which may be unique to a location), plus canal edge type (hard or soft edge) and

towing path type (surface or unsurfaced) and surface type.

Prepared by Paul Gibson Contracts Team 10/04/2015

Reservoir cutting

Under the Reservoir Act 1975 we have a duty to ensure that reservoir embankments are cut to such as standard that

they can be inspected easily and to that end with have a separate national contractor who delivers this programme. We

cut the grass at Lower Bittell, Cofton and Tardebigge reservoirs three times per year and we try to retain as many of the

wild flower areas as we possibly can without compromising our duties under the act. This year our ecologist will liaise

with the reservoir engineer and reservoir cutting team in advance of the cutting to identify those areas we can safely

leave to full flower and seeding. This is a balanced decision weighing our commitment to retain and promote wild fauna

and flora against a duty to ensure safety and security of of the water within the reservoir.

Cutting of other areas

We also cut open spaces, car park verges, and honeypot sites such as Saul Junction (G&S) and Goytre Wharf (M&B).

Generally speaking these are cut less frequently than the towing path verge but we do take account of local views and

the use of the spaces concerned when devising the frequency of the cut.

Cutting the towing path line on the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal later summer 2014 (MR3a)

Cutting regime types

Because of our need to consider the safety aspects associated with the waterscape, the needs and wants of all of the

users of our canal network alongside our moral and legal obligation in preserving and actively promoting and

encouraging wildlife on our network, we cut our grass according to a number of nationally adopted regimes which were

devised by our environment team in consultation with local waterway and the contracts team in 2007 these are titled

MR1 to MR3 and are also sub-divided into suffixes A-C each with a subtle variation in specification such as height or

width of cut.

On the South Wales and Severn waterway four of the national cutting types are applied, MR1a, MR2a, MR2b and

MR3a the details of which are illustrated below:-

Prepared by Paul Gibson Contracts Team 10/04/2015

MOWING REGIME 1

MR1a is the most intensive regime we can utilise and tends to be applied to urban locations, mooring, locks and landings

honeypot sites and may also be applied to the approaches to bridges and other access points.

On the SWS waterway we cut almost 20km length to this standard during the cutting season, typically these areas are

cut every two to three weeks and in total 12 times per season.

A typical location where you will see the MR1a regime on the G&S is at Saul Junction.

MR1a lock approach above Porter’s Mill Droitwich Barge Canal

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MR1a at Sellars Bridge

MOWING REGIME 2

MR2a is a slightly less intensive cut allowing the back verge of the towing path to grow through the season. It is generally

used in urban fringe or semi-rural locations. Grass is cut to 50mm height between the waters edge and the towing path

and to 50mm height behind the towing path for 500mm depth. We also cut around our towing path furniture such as

benches, bollards and directional signage. A full width cut is carried out at the end of each grass cutting season.

Approximately 38.5km of our network is cut to this standard five times per season with a full width cut (MR1a equivalent)

in the autumn.

The MR2a regime is common throughout the SWS network.

Prepared by Paul Gibson Contracts Team 10/04/2015

MR2a cut on the Droitwich Barge Canal (note marginal aquatics growing from the water are not cut as part of

this regime)

An MR2b cut retains a vegetated fringe and a slightly higher cut to the rear of the towing path (100mm rather than

50mm). We carry out this cut at a few locations on the network where it is appropriate for wildlife to have some cover

between the towing path verge and the waters edge. We also cut this regime five times per season with a full width cut

as per MR1a and MR2a in the autumn. This cutting programme is harder to see on the ground as we only occurs for a

total of 600 linear metres across the whole network.

Prepared by Paul Gibson Contracts Team 10/04/2015

MR2b grass cutting upstream of Ladywood Lower Lock on the Droitwich Barge canal (note vegetation fringe

retained between water’s edge and towing path)

MOWING REGIME 3

Because the South Wales and Severn network is predominantly rural in nature with unsurface towing paths MR3a is

the most common, the least intensive and deemed to be the most appropriate cutting regime in many locations.

Generally this regime entails cutting a 600 mm wide central track with 500mm cut both sides of this at 100mm high.

every 4 - 6 weeks, five times per season with a final full width cut at the end of the growing year.

We cut amost 73.5km of our canal to this regime.

Prepared by Paul Gibson Contracts Team 10/04/2015

This regime is extremely common on rural stretches of canals such as the Monmouthshire and Brecon.

MR3a cut on the Monmouthshire and Brecon canal

MR3a cut below Salwarpe on the Droitwich Barge canal

Prepared by Paul Gibson Contracts Team 10/04/2015

Hedge to Edge Cut

All of our canals receive a full hedge to edge cut once per season which helps to ensure we do not get a build up of

woody vegetation within the verge between the canal and towing path. Consequently by the end of November each

year the canal towing path looks quite bare until next season

Hedge to edge cut on the Worcester and Birmingham canal near to Hadzor (Note the fringe vegetation has

been reduced to ground level)

Contractors programme

Prior to the start of each mowing season the contractor provides CRT with a programme of cutting for the whole year

indicating the start and end point on each canal for each cutting cycle. This is analysed by the Contract Delivery Manager

and approved or ammended so the general location of a grass cutting team can be monitored throughout the season.

During the year we carry out quality, health and safety and environmental monitoring of the progress of grass cutting in

real time and consequently, we can quickly identify and rectify defects or specification variations in the cutting and

respond to customer, stakeholder or colleague generated enquiries in a timely manner.

GIS Information

Each of the lengths or areas that we manage has been mapped onto our Geographic Information System as a line or a

polygon. Each line has a colour which corresponds to the relevant agreed mowing regime type so it is easy to tell at a

glance how a specific location should be managed through a cutting season. We are able to extract data in a tabulated

form and create spreadsheets which become the basis of the programme information. From this extracted data we are

also able to compile our monthly payment to the contractor for the work carried out in the previous month.

Prepared by Paul Gibson Contracts Team 10/04/2015

© Crown copyright and database rights, 2015, Ordnance Survey 100022432. © Next Perspectives, 2015. Contains

Royal Mail data, © Royal Mail copyright and database right, 2015. Contains National Statistics data, © Crown

copyright and database right, 2015.

Extract from GIS mapped system showing three different mowing regime lines on the Worcester Birmingham

canal. (Note although rural semi-rural MR1a is adopted at locks, lock landings and the approaches to Bridge

22A

Fountains/OCS new (April 2015) Wales cutting team on the Monmouthshire and Brecon canal near to Bridge 47

(left to right Reece, Nicky and Ben)