The grass on social housing estates throughout Bolton is currently being cut on a strict twelve day cycle, while grass on other estates in the same borough are being left to grow for much longer periods.
It has just emerged that Bolton Council staff are cutting the grass on some estates under an agreement signed with social housing organisation Bolton At Home. The council are being paid £1.5 million per year to carry out maintenance on Bolton At Home properties in the borough, with jobs raging from cutting the grass, to repairs on properties, increased property insurance for landlords and also removing the increasing graffiti problem.
Councillor Paul Brierley said: “I recently took to the streets with my own strimmer to cut some grass myself because it is quite clear we are living in a two-tier system. People in accommodation, subsidised by the taxpayer, are getting a better service than other people, who are paying taxes. The Bolton family are supposed to be in this together, but there seems to be rules for one part of the family and different rules for the others. It’s a system where in some parts of the borough people are getting grass cut twice a month and in other parts it’s twice a year. It is just not fair.”
Bolton At Home are a registered charity who provide social housing in the town. They have recently taken over the ownership of properties from Bolton Council and they now have 19,000 homes which are all covered by property insurance. Their tenants are paying a service charge which means that they are, in effect, paying for the grass cutting themselves. The council have made cutbacks to their grass cutting schedule as they try to save £1.7 million from their yearly budget, but as they are being well paid by Bolton At Home, they will continue to give a twice monthly grass cutting service to their estates.