Councillors have called for an urgent clean-up of the overgrown Ness riverbank – but September is probably the earliest it will happen.
Grass, reeds and weeds have grown up to 2ft high in places and one councillor described the current view of the city centre area as “ghastly and ugly.”
More stringent health and safety practices means special machinery must now be used to cut grass on steep slopes, whereas contractors previously cut it with conventional mowers.
A Highland Council spokeswoman said the equipment will first be trialled on the embankment of Inverness Castle from August 27, and could then be used on the riverbank once trial results have been evaluated.
The spokeswoman also defended the growth of vegetation on the riverbank by stating it helps attract important wildlife such as bees.
Inverness Provost Helen Carmichael said that eight councillors on the City of Inverness Area Committee have responded in favour of cutting the grass back either to its former pristine condition, or by tidying the top part of the slope and leaving the bottom for wild flowers.
But Inverness central councillor Janet Campbell said yesterday that any new options should be considered for next year, and that the grass should be cut now as “a matter of urgency.”
Mrs Campbell, who has received six complaints about the grass in three weeks, added: “I feel that’s the will of the people of Inverness because it looks awful at the moment.
“First impressions are huge and we want tourists to go away and tell people at home how beautiful our city is, and I am afraid the way it is at the moment I don’t think that could be a genuine reflection.
“We are talking here about long grass with ghastly, ugly weeds. That’s not what we want. For years that riverside was cut beautifully and complemented the river.”
Mrs Campbell added that she was not aware of any health and safety changes until three weeks ago, and that the possibility of an overgrown riverbank could have been highlighted and discussed much sooner.
Fellow ward councillor Bet McAllister said: “I don’t like it and would prefer it cut shorter.
“We have never had it like that before, it’s always been neat and tidy.
“They need specialist equipment for safety. Unless they have the right equipment it won’t happen. It will just keep growing and growing. I dread to think what it will be like by October.”
