Context

Over 90% of meadow grasslands in the UK have been lost since the 1930s, and over 2500km2 has been lost since 1990. Widespread declines in many insect and bird species over the same period are not a coincidence. Development such as housing, roads, and industry has resulted in direct loss of habitat, and changes in the way we manage grassland has also resulted in huge losses of wildlife-friendly grassland habitat. 

The majority of grassland in lowland England has been improved: artificial fertilisers have been added for decades to create nutritious feed for livestock or to maintain lush green grassland for amenity purposes. Whilst these activities have brought many benefits, they have also been responsible for huge declines in once common plants and animals.

Many of our amenity grasslands such as sports pitches, parks and other green spaces need to be managed to suit the needs of users. Road verges also need to be managed for safety reasons. However, there are many opportunities for other grassland areas to provide valuable habitat for wildlife: these sites provide a huge potential resource for helping nature recovery. Havant Borough Council is investigating how managed grasslands in the borough can be used to boost biodiversity and improve our local green spaces.

Most council-owned or managed amenity grasslands offer little value for wildlife. Regular cutting during the flowering season removes wildflowers and the life they support, and increasing soil fertility from uncollected clippings reduces plant species diversity and wildlife value. 

What is the council doing?

There is a need to help nature recovery in Havant borough: this is clear message from residents, the council is legally obliged to protect and enhance biodiversity, and we are determined to play our part. Changing how we manage some of our grassland areas will help to encourage biodiversity, providing valuable habitat for wildlife and allowing residents to interact with nature where they live, work and play. 

Following a trial in 2024 and 2025, the council is continuing and expanding its relaxed mowing sites to a total of 24 in 2026.

The concept

The purpose of the council’s relaxed mowing strategy is as follows:

  • To encourage biodiversity
  • To promote access to and the enjoyment of wildlife
  • To foster community engagement and create a local sense of place
  • To reduce council expenditure on grassland maintenance
  • To reduce carbon emissions

The science of grassland management for wildlife

Existing grassland management encourages luxuriant grass growth. Grass clippings are not collected, meaning that they rot down and add nutrients to the soil. This results in taller, coarser grassland that requires more frequent cutting: an endless cycle.

This management system reduces the diversity of plants and actually encourages the growth of taller, less desirable vegetation including vigorous species such as Nettles and Thistles. Most flowering plants require areas of bare soils for germination: the current mowing system rarely provides this. Our most attractive and beneficial wildflower species cannot compete with tall, vigorous grasses and soon disappear.

Grasslands managed to promote biodiversity will include a greater number of flowering plant species. We would like our grasslands to contain beneficial and visually attractive flowering species such as Clovers, Dandelions, Knapweed, Buttercups, Primroses, Cowslips, Campions and Cuckooflower. A well-managed grassland will provide interest throughout the growing season as different species flower in sequence and provide opportunities for insects and other wildlife to thrive, as well as providing enjoyment for residents and visitors. 

The current system of grassland management guarantees that more cutting is needed, meaning greater resources are required - money, staff and fuel – and biodiversity continues to decline. As a population, we have forgotten that most of our grasslands were filled with wildflowers and wildlife only a few generations ago. 

Reducing soil fertility

The key aim of grassland management for biodiversity is to reduce soil fertility. This will ensure that grass growth is less vigorous and will require fewer cuts. It will also encourage greater diversity of plant species, resulting in more wildflowers and associated wildlife. 

Cut and collect

The most effective path to reducing soil fertility is collecting grass clippings. Currently, we are unable to routinely collect clippings, but we are working with our contract partners to explore clipping collection wherever possible. If clippings can be regularly collected, over time this will reduce soil fertility and reduce the growth of more vigorous, dominating species.

Cutting frequency

Verges are currently managed multiple times per year, particularly during the main growing season between April and September. This frequency of cutting is only required because grass growth is so vigorous due to increased soil fertility. 

Our relaxed mowing areas will be cut in early spring (March/April) and then again in late summer (August/September). 

Keeping it neat

All our relaxed mow areas will look obviously intentional. Path edges will be kept neat, and the margins of all relaxed mow areas will show a neat transition between mown and unmown parts. 

Keeping it local

Different parts of the borough have different soil types, ranging from chalky to acidic, and wet to dry. These soil differences mean that the plants that grow in each area will be subtly different: a wildflower grassland in Purbrook will be different to Hayling and different to West Leigh. These differences in flora can add to the distinctiveness of each area, providing attractive, wildlife-rich displays that reflect local character.

Monitoring

We will monitor our relaxed mowing areas and publish evidence to show how well they are progressing. Our main indicator of success is the number of plant species present at each site over time. It may take several years to see a substantial increase in wildflower species, but we will monitor the areas in a consistent way each year to hopefully demonstrate that the management works. 

In 2024 a total of nine council-owned sites were included in a trial of relaxed mowing. A further two sites were added in 2025, bringing the total to eleven sites.

All sites were subject to regular plant surveys, to record the total number of species growing at each site over the period April to September. Plant species diversity is used as a basic metric for success: if plant species numbers increase over time, it indicates that management is working.

View the results of the 2024 and 2025 trials.

Nearly all sites surveyed recorded an increase in plant species over the trial. The results demonstrate that the underlying assumption – that relaxed mow areas increase biodiversity – is sound.

Striking a balance

The proposed biodiversity mowing areas are a tiny fraction of the available amenity grassland in the borough. We believe there is a sensible balance between maintaining valuable community greenspace and providing opportunities for wildlife. Our greenspaces should provide for people and for wildlife and there is plenty of space to do just that.

The chosen sites are generally at the edges of large expanses of managed grassland and where access to amenity areas is not prevented or compromised. None of the proposed areas would obstruct highway sightlines or affect the safety of pedestrians, cyclists or road users. 

The principle is that large, longer and connected areas are better for biodiversity than small, isolated areas. We have tried to target areas that will provide maximum benefit to wildlife and that are relatively straightforward to manage.

Sites

Plans for the 24 relaxed mowing sites can be found via the following links:

Perceptions

The purpose of these areas is to encourage biodiversity and to make some of our amenity green spaces more attractive. Grass will be taller than surrounding areas and may on occasion be perceived as ‘untidy’. Maintaining neat edges to biodiversity grassland sites will help to show that they are purposeful and not simply unmanaged or neglected. 

There may also be concerns around dog fouling, litter and biting insects. There is no evidence to suggest or infer that longer grassland will attract more dog fouling or litter: these are persistent antisocial problems across all existing grassland areas, mown or not. The benefits of relaxed mowing outweigh the nuisance caused by an irresponsible few. 

Biting insects such as ticks occur naturally in vegetation of all types and heights. The presence of slightly longer grassland in some areas of the borough is extremely unlikely to result in increased instances of biting insects. There is no evidence that grassland managed for wildlife is more likely to support ticks and other biting insects. Ticks in particular appear to be increasing due to a warming climate and a burgeoning deer population. 

Stories to tell

One of the main benefits of a more relaxed approach to mowing is that is allows the land to express itself, and as a result provides us with glimpses into the past.

One example of this is Purbrook Heath. In 2025, a few areas of grass were left uncut between April and September, including parts of the steep bank north of the cricket field and an area surrounding the tennis court. The unmown areas were a riot of colour for the whole summer, with huge swathes of the nationally rare Chamomile especially pleasing (this is probably the best site for this scarce plant in the borough). Other interesting species such as Strawberry Clover were also found. Perhaps the best discovery was a population of Dwarf Gorse, a plant not previously recorded here or anywhere nearby. Purbrook Heath was, for centuries, an open grazed heathy grassland used by local graziers. The remnants of this old heathland are still there waiting to appear. In early spring, plants of acidic grassland are present, including the tiny Subterranean Clover and Upright Chickweed.

Elsewhere, at a relaxed mow area off Barncroft Way, plant species such as Corky-fruited Water-dropwort, Meadow Barley, and Strawberry Clover have appeared. These plants – indicators of old meadow grassland - show that there is a rich seedbank in even the most outwardly uninteresting amenity grasslands. 

At The Bog, Purbrook – where a tributary of the River Wallington was piped and buried in the 1970s – marshy grassland is present. Wetland species such as Marsh Yellow-cress, Cuckooflower, Marsh Foxtail, and Pale Persicaria were found in 2025, showing that the site supports an interesting wetland vegetation community despite the loss of its watercourse. 

At Sharp’s Copse in Leigh Park, a seemingly uninteresting green space is actually a fragment of old woodland. Beneath old Oaks there are remnants of woodland plants such as Wood Anemone, Goldilocks Buttercups and Bluebells.