- 5,000 acres (2,000 hectares) of open space in the County
- 8 Regional Parks
- 40,000 Street Trees
- 175 Sports Pitches
- 2 Golf Courses (Elmgreen, Dublin 15 and Corballis, Donabate)
- 20 Playgrounds
- 2 Skateparks
- 46 Tennis Courts
- 600 Allotments (not maintained by the Council)
- 1 City Farm
Fingal Growing Places
What is ‘Growing Places’
The ‘Growing Places’ initiative has developed from the twin ambitions of creating a more diverse range of open space environments and the need to match available resources with competing demands.
It is an initiative of the Parks Division of the Council arising from a review of its work in 2007 which recognised the need to rebalance the use of resources between its competing priorities so as to best deal with all aspects of its remit and services.
As part of the County Council’s wider commitment to Bio-Diversity and developing Green Infrastructure, ‘Growing Places’ consists of five main elements;
*A change in grass maintenance regimes
*A focus on street trees and open space shrubberies
*Developing planting programmes on open spaces
*Improving the quality of active recreation facilities
*Liaising with Residents Groups about the detailed implementation of the initiative
So why the long grass?
Grass cutting is the single biggest task of the Council’s Parks Division whether in large parks, local open spaces or along our national routes.
We have identified opportunities to give effect to the ambitions set out above by adjusting the regularity of grass cutting in line with the usage patterns of particular open spaces. This will allow some areas to be turned into meadow between Spring and Autumn every year. It is the releasing of staff from grass work which will enable us to deliver on other key tasks.
The long grass which has begun to emerge represents the first visible stages of the Growing Places programme. In this first year a range of open spaces across the County were chosen to reflect the different sizes, configuration and landscape types that constitute all but our smallest spaces.
We are calling those areas on which meadow length grass is beginning to appear Transition A Areas.
This means they are moving from the traditional type of mowing programmes to one of variable mowing where the edges, formal and informal pathways and play areas will be cut on an approximately fortnightly basis with meadow areas being cut once in the Autumn. It is these annual cut areas which are being developed as meadow grass.
The grass will be allowed to grow from March to September when it will be cut and taken away to be used as compost, haylage and as animal feed and bedding in our Traditional Farm at Newbridge House in Donabate.
In the Autumn we will plant wild flowers and lots of bulbs such as daffodils, in association with residents associations and schools, so that growth in the following years will gradually create more colourful and pleasing open space areas. A hay cutting approach gradually reduces the density of the grass allowing the wild flowers to more easily establish themselves.
Outside of these Transition A Areas many other open spaces will also see a change in their mowing practices. We are calling these Transition B Areas.
As with the Transition A Areas above, the edges, pathways and play areas will be cut approximately every fortnight and the remainder, where there is no established pattern of active usage, will be cut monthly. Over the next five years it is planned to convert these monthly cut areas into meadow as in the current Transition A Areas.
Frequently Asked Questions:
1. Is the council just abandoning maintenance to save money?
No open space is being abandoned. Grass will continue to be cut on every open space across the County. The change is in the way and where the grass is cut.
The conversion of mown grass to wildflower meadow will need investment and annual maintenance but at different times to when it has been done in the in the past. There will be labour savings at certain times of the year but this ‘saved’ labour will allow the Council to carry out works that have been neglected because of the previous un-sustainable focus on frequent grass cutting.
Over time residents will see herbaceous perennial flower schemes, tree maintenance, tree planting, and planting large drifts of daffodils and other flowering bulbs on open space. More resources can also be focused on maintaining active recreation facilities such as pitches, playgrounds, and all-weather surfaces
2. Are those flowers just weeds?
A weed is any plant growing where it is not wanted. A flower in a vegetable plot is a weed and a vegetable in a flower bed may be a weed. It depends on what we want. Wildflowers are often referred to as weeds in agriculture but they are an important part of our natural environment and heritage and it is up to us to maintain and improve biodiversity and wildlife values.
As a country we have committed ourselves to a range of international agreements to create bio-diversity. We have to adjust our thinking and learn to appreciate wildflowers and meadow areas for the important resources that they are and the colour and variety they will bring to our areas.
Our staff are trained to recognise the few types of noxious weeds which might arise and have long established systems for dealing with them.
3. Will there be anywhere for children to play?
Play areas will continue to be maintained. We are and will continue to cut areas on which we have seen formal or informal play as before. We can adjust our mowing programme to more accurately reflect needs through contact with the Council (see below).
4. Will it increase hay fever?
There are 3 peak periods in the hay fever season. The early and late peaks are due to tree pollen, not hay. The middle peak is due to grass pollen when grasses flower usually at the end of May and into June. This grass flowers usually at about two inches in height and is quite common even on golf greens which are cut very very short.
Wildflower meadows do have grass species but the species will be different and the flowering time will likely be later in the season. The move to wildflower meadows is likely to change when this peak occurs but is unlikely to change the overall incidence of hay fever.
5. Will it increase rodent problems?
Both mice and rats are rodents but they rarely if ever live in the same place. Rats are what people object to most strongly. Rats tend to live in ditches and covered areas and are attracted to waste particularly domestic or food waste. Converting an open space to wildflower meadows will not of itself attract or increase the rat population.
But if waste is dumped on an open space especially by hedgerows or in shrub beds the waste will attract rodents. It is up to us as a society to discourage others from dumping on our open spaces both to improve the appearance of the open space and to avoid potential problems with vermin. Part of our new approach will be to tidy-up these types of overgrown locations where vermin might reside.
6. What about litter?
The first thing to be said is that litter does not just appear on public open space. Somebody puts it there. Small items of litter like sweet papers and soft drink bottles are often dropped by (young) people. It is up to all of us to develop the practice of bringing litter home or to put it into litter bins where they are provided.
A bigger problem is dumping of litter on public open space whether this be green garden waste, domestic waste and white goods. It is up to us all to challenge and discourage our neighbours from reducing the quality of our environment by dumping.
We appreciate that many individuals and Residents Associations have in the past, and we hope will continue to look after your area by picking litter and doing general tidy-ups. If you report dumping to the Council action will be taken to deal with the culprits. This might mean that you have to be willing to give eye witness evidence in court to secure a conviction.
Dog fouling is a particularly objectionable type of littering. Dog owners are required to remove their pets’ waste from public places and dispose of it in a proper manner.
As responsible citizens are unwilling to do this we are not serious about dealing with our litter problem.
The Council’s litter reporting freephone is 1800 201093, or email at enserv@fingalcoco.ie.
7. What about Anti-Social Behaviour?
Grass over 600mm (2ft) high will not provide the same cover for people engaging in anti-social activity as many of the current clumps of shrubs or low-growing trees do.
As part of our work we will begin to tidy-up and remove these existing hiding places around residential areas in discussion with residents associations. We are confident this will lead to an overall reduction in people causing nuisance.
It should be noted that under Council Bye Laws it is illegal to drink alcohol in public places. As with littering we need as a society to tackle this kind of unacceptable behaviour by contacting the Gardai who have powers to deal with it.
8. Will we be able to see children in the wildflower meadows?
It is true that the height of the vegetation will increase particularly in the May- August period. Annual removal of hay will reduce fertility and growth rates of the grasses but the meadows are never so high that even young children standing in a meadow cannot be seen.
With perimeter pathways being kept short and with ample play areas there is no need, and we would request people not, to go into the long-grass areas.
9. Do we have a say, or is the Council forcing this on us?
Yes residents have a say. That said, this approach to open space maintenance is the future.
We must reduce the carbon footprint of our inputs into amenity maintenance and at the same time improve the amenity value, biodiversity and wildlife values of our open spaces. In doing this the Council will provide short mown turf grass where it is needed
This means we must hear from you where to locate kick-about areas, where to remove vegetation that is providing cover for anti-social elements, where to plant new appropriate trees and where to plant daffodils. We will be looking for your help in this new planting, to continue with your efforts in litter management and to report anti-social behaviour.
We welcome hearing from Residents Associations and will arrange to meet representatives on site to look at grass maintenance in the overall context of the quality and amenity value of open space(s) in an area.
Please contact us, preferably by email, at growingplaces@fingalcoco.ie or by writing to Growing Places, Parks Division, Fingal County Council, County Hall, Main Street, Swords, Co Dublin.
This picture shows what a typical green space in a residential area looks like at the moment.
During the transition period, the grass will grow long and we will cut a hay crop. This will seed the area and encourage wildflowers to grow.
Wildflower meadows will still have a strip mowed along the edge of pathways, and large canopy trees will provide shade.
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