Public pavement overgrown with weeds.

Weed management for local authorities

The Amenity Forum sets out how best to manage weeds in public places.

Weed management is important for several reasons: aesthetics for one, but also to limit premature degradation of our urban environment through the damage of footpaths and structures. Additionally, weeds can create trip hazards, trap litter and compromise access for the public, especially those with pushchairs or mobility aids.

There are of course many ways in which this perennial problem can be approached, and unsurprisingly the solution is rarely as simple as selecting one solution and expecting it to solve every issue in every place.

Quite rightly there has been a push for land managers to explore what most recently have been described as Integrated Pest Management practices. As the name suggests, these pest management practices seek to combine the best and most appropriate tools to ensure that the right results are achieved whilst controlling cost, but at the same time giving thought to environmental considerations.

Designing out weeds

The process starts long before the weeds grow. Thoughtful design can engineer out many of the opportunities for weed habitats to establish. Next time you stroll down the high street, or through your local park, observe where the weeds are growing. Invariably they will be at their most numerous in areas where detritus has collected as a consequence of there being little foot traffic, sharp angles within kerb runs and wall lines, or just poor materials selection.

Should urban architects have the job of maintaining the spaces that they design, I suspect that we would see far more sweeping curves as well as considerably less block paving. The reality is that that modern urban design is now very much influenced by the need to be sustainable in its upkeep, but the vast majority of what we currently maintain is of an age where such considerations were not high on the agenda.

Clearly local authorities have a significant responsibility when it comes to the control of pests and weeds within our villages, towns and cities. Not just on hard surfaces, but also within parks, cemeteries but also sports facilities such as pitches, both grass and artificial and also bowling greens and golf courses where turf needs to be nurtured to provide high quality playing surfaces. On top of this, invasive species that have become recognised as a significant problem in recent years and they also must be effectively managed.

Financial pressures

As we are all aware, in recent times councils have had very challenging conditions in which to operate, the financial pressures have been significant and delivering essential services has required careful budgeting in order to balance the books. It is for this reason that a recent Private Members’ Bill that has been introduced by Brighton MP Siân Berry ought to cause great concern.

The Bill has the title “A Bill to provide for the prohibition of the use of professional plant protection products by local authorities and other public authorities for amenity purposes; to require the Secretary of State to publish guidance in connection with that prohibition; and for connected purposes.”

Whilst currently the Bill has not been fully drafted, it is not clear how far reaching the proposed prohibition might be, it is reasonable to assume from the wording however that the restrictions will not just be limited to local authorities, but to Highways England too for example.

So, let’s consider where the adoption of the bill might leave us. Currently councils work hard to deliver ever higher standards for the residents of their communities. In recent years, there have been numerous studies to establish what alternative weed control solutions might prove to be effective as an alternative to herbicide application. Notably Cardiff Council commissioned a scientific trial which assessed the viability of two alternatives to the glyphosate-based approach used by the majority of local authorities in the UK. It found that glyphosate has a smaller overall environmental footprint than the two alternatives trialled, which were acetic acid (a highly concentrated vinegar) and a hot foam treatment (a plant-based product which combines hot water with a biodegradable foam). The report can be found online but suffice to say the results point very clearly to alternatives being heavily compromised.

Integrated approach

So, what should an integrated approach look like? Aside from the aforementioned considerations relating to urban design, there are other key elements that are important, these include: identifying the issue; monitoring its extent; establishing action thresholds; exploring treatment options or combinations thereof; and valuating results.

What is important is to consider sustainability. In reality, that means taking actions that can be sustained without causing detrimental impacts on our environment. Sustainability doesn’t require the blunt instrument that a wholesale ban on the use of very well-regulated plant protection products would be. Instead, what it requires is the deployment of a well-considered regime that draws upon the best elements of practice to control the establishment of weed populations before using the most effective tools to deal with them when they occur.

Let’s hope that when the bill enters its future stages, science and genuine sustainability are what drives the outcome. 

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