Why Truro’s Comprigney Hill meadows are being cut and baled

A tractor working its way across the fields at Comprigney Hill, on the edge of Truro, might look like a simple tidy-up. It is closer to the opposite. The long grass is coming down this week so that more wildflowers can come up in the years ahead.

What is happening at Comprigney Hill

Truro City Council has taken on the management of land at Comprigney Hill (Coosebean), and the council’s Countryside Rangers Team is now beginning a programme of meadow management to help protect and improve the area for wildlife.

Work begins this week, weather permitting. Some of the meadow areas, marked as Fields 1, 2 and 3 on the council’s map, will be cut and the grass baled. A contractor will carry out the cutting and baling, and it is planned as part of an annual programme of work, so it will become a regular sight on the hill.

Why cut a wildflower meadow at all

It is a traditional way of looking after wildflower meadows. Cutting later in the year and taking the vegetation away stops vigorous grasses from becoming dominant.

It also gradually reduces the nutrients in the soil. That sounds like a bad thing, but poorer soil creates better conditions for a wider variety of wildflowers and grasses to thrive, rather than a few thuggish species crowding everything else out.

Where the bales will end up

The bales are staying put. Once the grass is baled, the bales will be placed in a corner of each field to create habitat piles. As the vegetation slowly breaks down, those piles will give wildlife extra places to shelter.

Bramble and scrub stay, within limits

Some of the areas of bramble and scrub will also be carefully managed. The rangers are not clearing it all. The plan is to stop it encroaching on valuable meadow habitat while keeping appropriate areas in place for wildlife.

Keeping that mixture of meadow, bramble and scrub gives the site a variety of habitats, and a variety of habitats can support a wider range of wildlife.

Part of the council’s 2026 to 2030 plan

The work is being managed by the Countryside Rangers and supports Objective 2, ‘Our Environment’, of the council’s 2026-2030 Strategy, which aims to carry out work that delivers multiple benefits to nature recovery. The full strategy is available on Truro City Council’s website.

The council has thanked people for their patience and understanding while the works take place.

📷Map of the Comprigney Fields at Comprigney Hill (Coosebean), Truro. Credit: Truro City Council