LOCAL people are reportedly considering taking matters into their own hands to clear Enniskillen's overgrown roundabouts and grass verges.

"I had planned to go over to the roundabout at the hospital [South West Acute Hospital] last night to pull up the weeds but my husband discouraged me," said one local resident, who been in communication to DfI Road Service about the issue. 

"I feel that half an hour would remove these and another half an hour for the roundabout at Donnelly's. Not a big drain on [the DfI] budget!"

The 'overgrown' nature of Enniskillen's grass verges and roundabouts has been a source of much annoyance among residents in recent months. 

And while DfI have confirmed that grass cutting in Enniskillen has begun, residents are less than enthused by the cutting thus far.

"When the contractor cuts the grass, they don't even use a lawnmower," said another disgruntled resident from Trory. 

"They go along and cut, but when they come to any sort of post, or even a wheelie bin set out, they just go around it and leave that area out. 

"They dont have anyone following with a strimmer to do road signs. They aren't even cutting the full verge any more.

"There doesn't even appear to be anyone coming out to inspect the work. It looks a complete hash, a complete mess."

The disgruntled resident continued: "As a tourism town, the first impression on the approach road is far from good. They used to be pristine and full of flowers, and now they are overgrown and barely tended to.

"We pay our rates - we deserve to have the area looking nice at least."

When approached for comment on the issue, DfI stressed that grass cutting isn't "cosmetic", but instead for road safety and biodiversity. 

"Grass cutting operations are carried out by the Department specifically for road safety reasons and not for cosmetic or amenity purposes," a spokesperson said. 

"Our approach focuses on protecting wildlife and promoting biodiversity, without compromising on roads safety.

"Areas that are needed for road safety purposes, such as for sight lines at junctions, will be cut at least twice each year to enable road users to see on-coming traffic when exiting the junction."

When asked for an update on grass cutting operations in Enniskillen, a DfI spokesperson said: "Grass cutting in the Enniskillen area will begin in July with a further cut of the area programmed if necessary for later in the season."

Meanwhile, the Council has also made representations to deal with this thorny issue. 

While a spokesperson said that the maintenance of verges and roundabouts is outside of the Council's remit, Councillors have been pressing DfI to act. 

"The matter was discussed by the Council at its June meeting and it resolved that representations be made to the Minister for Infrastructure to request a programme of grass-cutting at all rural junctions and sightlines within the District," a spokesperson said. 

"Members also considered correspondence from DfI Roads at the Environmental Services Committee meeting on June 5, which advised that their programme of grass-cutting/verge maintenance had commenced on June 3, in line with DfI Roads policy."