Plastic Grass Tax?

[Bill]

We’ve always enjoyed a bit of gardening but as we got older it was getting more difficult to look after the grass and privet hedges, so while I was still fit enough, I made changes to ensure the garden would easier to maintain in our latter years. Now it looks like this maybe wasn’t the best idea.

From what I heard on the news this morning, councils are considering increasing council tax for anyone with artificial grass and water companies doing the same if you have a block paved drive. I get the fact that it’s not as environmentally friendly as the real thing, but the alternative is to have an untidy garden.

 

Bill 😊

[Observer II]

Councils are frankly looking for any excuse to reap in more money from residents. Perhaps it's time voters started taking a critical look at how their Council is spending their money,  particularly on payments to Councillors and Senior Staff,  which are now in the six figure zone.     😠

[Evil Sid]

my yard is a concrete one, with obligatory weeds growing in the slightest crack. so the only gardening i do is once a year give the weeds a good dose of weed killer. doesn't keep them away but does mean that the vine like weed that seems to grow quickly never takes over the concrete.

didn't bother one year and by august half the yard was covered in it, had to resort to a flame thrower to shift it and even then it fought back after a few weeks.

 

did once think of artificial grass for the yard but after pricing it up decided against it.

what i can't figure out is why would the council charge less for having real grass, apart from getting money in that is. you would think that not having to empty a garden waste bin every few weeks would be a saving.still i suppose you could take it up and carpet the house with it.....

if the water companies charge extra for a block paved drive on the basis that it needs jetwashing every few months and so using extra water then i can see people going in for one of those battery operated jetwashers.

can be used anywhere you can fill a bucket with water. in fact if you converted a small wheelie bin into a water but then you don't need to use any mains water, just drag the bin to the drive drop the jetwash hose in and away you go.

[Bill]

I could be wrong, but I think it’s more to do with rainwater runoff rather than water used to clean them, their argument being the more concrete we put down the quicker it runs into the drains and that can lead to local flooding. I don’t really believe that as most block paving has sand filled gaps that water can get through and it’s much the same with plastic grass.

I did my annual pressure wash a few days ago and today I’ve replaced the sand but this time I used some new filler sand that has a slow-release week killer so hopefully less issues with the weeds until next years cleaning. It took two bags, and they were double the price of ordinary sand, but hopefully I’ll save on the expensive weed killer sprays.

 

Bill 😊

[Confused52]

Well .... No. Councils are not considering this because it would be unlawful. The idea has been dug up again by green loons at the University of Sheffield who are suggesting how to get their own way by bullying Council Tax payers. It is what supposed scientists do these days. Water companies would need a change in the Water Acts. Could these loons not just take a very long sabbatical please?

[Bill]

Picture of my un-enviromentally friendly back garden with plastic grass and new fencing replacing the privit hedges.

The fenceing went up last year but due to my wonky arm I couldn't paint them and they were starting to look a bit grey and dried out. It took me three days to do all 16 panels using a small brush but my arm held up ok. 

Just need to get some bedding plants in now the risk of a frost is out of the way.

 

Bill  

[Evil Sid]

get a cheap garden sprayer and spray paint the fences with whatever treatment you use. better coverage and very little by way of arm ache, apart from pressurising the system.

any garden centre will sell them or get online and see what b&q or some other diy place has in stock.

I got one for about a tenner that i use to spray the weeds about every half year. Still get some of the buggers coming back though no matter what i treat them with, even a flame thrower won't see them off. any slight crack in the concrete and within a week of spring starting, up they come.

one reason  hate gardening is that it is a lot of work all year round and more so as the summer months approach.

[Bill]

They’re too difficult to get out Sid. We hate fences that rattle in the wind so most of them are wedged or screwed down. My neighbour used a fence sprayer some years back on a windy day and completely covered my garden windows and decking in grey paint and I’m not exaggerating. My fence backs onto four other neighbours, all of which had already painted their sides last year, so I had to be extra careful that I didn’t just slop it on and cause my colour to run through to their side.

I don’t get too many weeds with the plastic grass, just a few in the flower bed areas that I can deal with fairly easily. The whole idea of changing to this kind of artificial garden was to make life easier for us both in our later lives but I’ll still need to repaint fences and occasionally relevel the sand under the grass.

Looks like the artificial intelegence thinks that paragraph needs underlining!

 

Bill 😊