Elected Member Briefing Note 2026, No. 58
About this Briefing Note
Report by: Andy Clegg, Community Greenspace Manager
EMBN Number: 058-26
Date: 13 May 2026
Subject: Perth and Kinross Verge Cutting Update
Responsible Officer: Lesley Ann Cassidy, Community Greenspace Team Leader (Infrastructure)
Details
Purpose
This briefing provides an update on the new verge cutting contract for public roads managed by Perth and Kinross Council beyond the 30mph settlement limits, and the changes being made to the frequency and extent of cutting following an increase in the resources available.
Briefing information
This report is a briefing on the new verge cutting contract which will begin at the end of May/start of June following a successful procurement exercise by Angus Council in collaboration with Dundee City Council, and Perth and Kinross Council. It is an update to the May 2024 briefing 050-24, when the resources available for verge cutting were reduced as part of the Council's savings targets in February 2024. This resulted in noticeable changes to verge maintenance outwith settlement boundaries on the public road network across Perth and Kinross.
The new contract will be in place for three years and allows a number of options for verge cutting extents and regimes. At the Council's budget setting meeting on 26 February 2025, it was agreed that an additional £70,000 would be added to the resources available for verge cutting, ahead of the new contract being awarded. This additional funding will allow a single cut to be undertaken over the whole network, starting with the 'A' class roads and working through to the unclassified ones. A second cut will also be done on junction visibility splays and certain A class roads where growth rates and inspections require it. All verge cutting will be completed by the end of August and sufficient to ensure annual and woody vegetation growth is kept in check whilst achieving some biodiversity benefits by not cutting the whole network twice.
Management of verge cutting across the entire road network within Perth and Kinross will continue to be overseen by the Community Greenspace service, working closely with colleagues in the Roads Maintenance Partnership (RMP). Areas within the 30mph limits of settlements will continue to be cut by the Council's Direct Services, incorporating areas to enhance biodiversity and address climate change through the Council's 'Grow Wild' initiative.
View further information about verge cutting and our Grow Wild initiative.
