A COUNCIL said it expected to save £58,000 a year because of changes to the way it maintains its green areas.

Head of green spaces at Burnley Council, Simon Goff, said reducing grass cutting and planting wildflowers was of benefit the area.

As well as saving the authority money, it would also help towards protecting the UK's under-threat bee population.

While facing large cuts in funding, the council now manages its parks, playing fields, grass verges and slopes as meadows, meaning they are cut less frequently which encourages wildlife to live there.

At a Bee Summit in London, Mr Goff said the amount of cash which could be saved was set to increase.

He said: "People visit parks to enjoy contact with nature, so we are adopting a more ecological approach to managing them, with large areas of previously mown grass now managed as meadows.

"This saves money, reduces CO2 emissions, increases biodiversity and creates more attractive and interesting parks.

"The council is facing huge cuts and so we are rethinking how we manage our green spaces.

"We are focusing on what is important to park users such as removing litter, maintaining play areas and tackling dog fouling.

"We are saving money in other areas such as introducing more meadow areas and replacing expensive bedding scheme with herbaceous perennials."

A study done by Buglife and Friends of the Earth found 81 per cent of people would support a move to mow areas less often to allow wildflowers to grow.

This would provide food for bees and other pollinating insects.

Craig Bennett, chief executive at Friends of the Earth, said: "Local councils have a vital part to play in helping the UK's under-threat bee populations.

"Policies, such as allowing grass to grow on roadside verges and in certain areas in parks, will help bees, save cash-strapped councils money and are supported by the public too.

"We hope many more councils will stand up for our bees and nature and introduce comprehensive pollinator action plans in the months ahead."

Dr Paul Evans, lead pollinator advisor at Buglife, said councils were not being forced to abandon areas of land.

He said: "We want authorities to introduce a new less intensive form of grassland management.

"Effectively cutting grass less in the right places will not only help to counter pollinator decline it will benefit wildlife and people too.

"The message is a win, win, win for councils. They help save money, help nature and enrich people's lives."