LEDBURY town councillors are divided on whether grass-cutting duties should be taken on from the cash-strapped Herefordshire Council.

If so, the final bill to the town council purse, to be picked up by Ledbury's council tax payers, could be anywhere between £35,000 and £70,000 per annum, although figures are still disputed.

A proposed "shared maintenance" policy for Ledbury's amenity areas, including the Town Trail, Queen's Walk, the Walled Garden and St Martin's Way Play area was discussed at last week's full town council meeting, at The Methodist Church in The Homend.

The proposal was that an initial £15,000 should be added to this year's town council budget "for the purpose of undertaking limited devolved services and ground maintenance".

With Herefordshire Council's contractor, Balfour Beatty, operating a limited grass-cutting programme in town during the past two summers, the aim is to limit further incidences of long grass blowing uncut on Ledbury's amenity areas.

Cllr Martin Eager, chairman of the town's environment and leisure committee said: "We have chewed the cud on this for so long. We need to make a start this year, and improve year on year."

Discussions on the shared maintenance idea have taken place recently between Balfour Beatty and the town council.

But Cllr Eager warned it would be "extremely difficult" logistically for two contractors, one appointed by the town council and the other by Herefordshire Council, to be responsible for cutting the grass on the same areas of land.

This raised the possibility that it could be a town council-appointed contractor, with all the cost implications that would imply, who would shoulder the main burden.

Cllr Eager said: "You have to have one contractor or another. They cannot share that service. It is all or nothing."

Cllr Eager added that Ledbury was the only town in Herefordshire which, so far, had not proposed taking on devolved services for grass cutting.

But Cllr Tony Bradford said he could not agree with LedburyTown Council taking on those duties.

He said: "If we take on this thing, we could well take on another, and there is a long way to go with the cost. I've been hearing a figure of £70,000 for grass cutting in Ledbury.

"The tax payer is already paying for this service."

Cllr Eager, in reply said: "We are talking about less than half that cost."

Town councillors agreed to defer discussion on the issue to a future meeting of the environment and leisure committee.