The long grass blighting public spaces across Moray was the top issue raised during an MSP’s “street surgeries” tour around the county.
Highlands and Islands MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston has been knocking on doors in communities across Moray in recent weeks, and said the local authority’s decision to reduce grass-cutting has infuriated local residents.
The Conservative MSP has been a long term critic of the decision, highlighting public health concerns over ticks, as well as a growing feeling among residents that the council’s decision is misguided. He has written again to Moray Council asking them to reconsider their decision.
Jamie Halcro Johnston said:
“In the last week, I have been visiting homes across the length and breadth of Moray as part of my street surgeries tour.
“Grass-cutting was the number one issue I heard on doorsteps and has become a very visible symbol of this SNP council’s neglect of our communities.
“This isn’t just about the how our towns and villages look – as important as that is. I heard several accounts of an increase in the number of ticks, particularly on dogs, that can have an impact on both humans and animals. When I asked the council about this previously, they brushed it off, arguing they had no responsibility for managing tick numbers.
“There is clearly a public health issue here. Given vermin can thrive in long-grass close to built-up areas, and can use it to move between areas, I have asked the council what monitoring it is doing on rat and mice numbers and what, if any, strategy they have to deal with any potential rise in pest numbers.
“The official line from the SNP administration on grass-cutting has so far been a stubborn refusal to reconsider or review its approach. It is clear that they have absolutely no understanding of the depth of feeling on this issue.
“However, as the impact of Scottish Government-forced cuts to public services becomes more and more visible to every resident, every day, in communities across Moray, the pressure will only grow on Moray Council’s administration to reverse their decision.”
