Tipperary County Council urges residents to reconsider not paying their grass cutting fees

Residents in housing estates who won’t contribute to grass cutting have been asked to reconsider their decision by Nenagh Municipal District manager Marcus O’Connor.

In a reply to Cllr Seamus Morris calling for the Council to cut grass in estates, Mr O’Connor said: “Tipperary County Council does not cut grass in private housing estates in line with its taking-in-charge policy. Estates that apply to be taken in charge are advised of this policy."

He said that the Council simply did not have the financial or manpower resources to maintain the open spaces and cut the grass, 10 to 15 times a year, in all these estates (of which there are literally hundreds) across the county.

"At present there are thousands of households in hundreds of private housing estates across Tipperary who pay private contractors (or do it themselves) to maintain the open spaces and cut grass in their estates. The cost of this is about €50 per household per year.  In my experience, householders are prepared to pay €1 a week to keep their estates well-presented and maintained," said Mr O'Connor.

The district manager sad that Tipperary County Council cannot change its long standing policy for one estate in the county.

"I would suggest that the residents reconsider their stand on this matter. Unfortunately, it is the appearance of their attractive estate that is suffering," he said.

Cllr Morris had raised the issue at the July meeting of Nenagh Municipal District Council in relation to grass cutting at one particular Nenagh estate.