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.

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.