Grass, weeds and shrubs
This page covers the maintenance of grass, weeds and shrubs on highways.
Management of shrubs, grass and weed growth within parks and open spaces, housing sites, schools and other council building may be different and the responsibility lies with the department or site outlined below.
- Parks and Open Spaces - Vision Redbridge Culture and Leisure
- Housing Sites - Housing Services
- Schools – Each school is responsible for maintenance within their grounds
- Other Council Buildings - Contact the building user for advice
- Transport for London Trunk Roads - A12, A406, A1400
If the information on this page does not provide the details required please report the issue using the online form.
Weeds
The main way weeds are controlled on the streets is through the application of a weed killer during four treatments each year. All treatments, on hard surfaces (pavements, road gullies/gutters), should be carried out between February and December on a nine to twelve-week cycle.
The weed killer is only applied to the growth visible during the visit, which means that new weeds will start to grow after each visit.
It can take between take two to three weeks for weeds to die after treatment. The weeds are not normally removed once they have died, as they should decompose and disperse naturally. However, the street cleansing team may target areas where this is a large amount of dead weed growth that has not dispersed after three weeks.
Weed treatment programme
The highway weed treatment programme for 2025 started on the 24 February. We carry out 4 main treatments to footpaths and gullies and the list of wards below are shown in the order of treatment with a completion date for the last treatment for each ward.
Find out what ward your road is in:
Ward | Treated |
Clementswood | 28 February |
Valentines | 28 February |
Goodmayes | 4 March |
Mayfield | 4 March |
Newbury | 7 March |
Clayhall | 7 March |
Barkingside | 11 March |
Fullwell | 13 March |
Hainault | 13 March |
Aldborough | 28 March |
Fairlop | 27 March |
Loxford | 7 April |
Seven Kings | 8 April |
Chadwell | 2 April |
Cranbrook | 17 April |
Bridge | 25 April |
Ilford Town | 16 April |
Monkhams | 25 April |
South Woodford | 1 May |
Churchfields | 10 May |
Wanstead Village | 20 May |
Wanstead Park |
Grassed verges
The grass verges are cut nine-times in the year, which means there are approximately six weeks between the cuts. The grass grows at different rates throughout the year, with the fastest rate being between April and June and during the rest of the year the grass tends to grow slower, but the flowers and seed heads will continue to grow quite tall.
Grass cutting programme
The highway grass cutting programme for 2025 started in February and we are carrying out the third cut. We will visiting each site every 5 to 6 weeks and the list of wards below are shown in the approximate order they will be cut with a completion date for each ward.
Ward | Cut Date |
South Woodford | 29 April |
Aldborough | 1 May |
Barkingside | 2 May |
Chadwell | 2 May |
Goodmayes | 2 May |
Clementswood | 11 May |
Ilford Town | 11 May |
Loxford | 17 May |
Mayfield | 4 May |
Newbury | 4 May |
Bridge | 9 May |
Seven Kings | In progress |
Hainault | 17 May |
Churchfields | 18 May |
Monkhams | 26 May |
Fairlop | 14 May |
Cranbrook | 19 May |
Fullwell | 28 May |
Clayhall | 21 May |
Wanstead Park | 25 May |
Wanstead Village | 27 May |
Shrubs, hedges and roses
Shrubs and hedges
Shrub and hedge pruning can be carried out twice per year, during the summer (June-August) and the autumn/winter periods (October-February). Not every shrub will require pruning and some sites are assessed prior to each pruning period to ascertain if they require pruning or not; Additionally, in the winter some sites are noted for extra work to reduce overlarge shrubs. The shrub and hedge work programme below identifies how shrubs and hedges will be maintained in each road.
Shrubs are not pruned if there are birds nesting within them as it is against the law to disturb a nesting bird during nesting season (generally between March and August).
Weeds within shrub beds are not removed by hand, but are treated with herbicide at the start of the year.