Issue - meetings

Purpose of report

To consider a recommendation from a Joint Meeting of the Environment and Rural & Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committees following a motion to Council to eliminate the use of pesticides on Council land.

Decision

In noting the recommendations made by the Joint Meeting of the Environment and Rural & Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee (OSC) on 4 March 2025 Cabinet resolved to:

1. Thank the Members of the Joint OSC for their work and consideration in relation to the use of glyphosate on Council owned land.

2. Agree that the Council should continue with a strategy of reducing the use of glyphosate on its land where it is safe to do so and does not present a health and safety concern or impact of the aesthetics of an area.

3. Request that a review of the Council’s use of glyphosate is undertaken following a decision on the renewal of the licence by Central Government in December 2025.

Alternative options considered and rejected

A range of alternative options for controlling weed growth across the district were presented to the meeting of the joint OSC on 4 March 2025. There was consensus that none of the options identified were a suitable alternative.

Reasons for the decision

As detailed within the body of the report the Council’s use of glyphosate was already low relative to the size and rurality of South Kesteven district.  The Council had already adopted a strategy of reducing its use as far as practical.

237 sites were sprayed within SKDC, which included several Housing Revenue Account (HRA) sites. In SKDC’s parks a diluted spray was used on paths and hard surfaces; nothing was used around mature trees or flower beds. Work around roadside verges was often contracted to Lincolnshire County Council.

The Cabinet Member for Environment and Waste has listened to the views of the Joint Environment and Rural & Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committees, as well as the proposer of the original motion, and had reviewed case studies and best practice. There had been no significant complaints related to the Council’s use of glyphosate.

Glyphosate was used carefully and in a targeted way; for example, it would be used to target weeds around newly planted trees. The resolutions brought SKDC into line with the approach taken by the Woodland Trust.

£490 was spent on glyphosates in 2023/2024, and not all this stock was used. Any alternative approach to tackling weeds without the use of glyphosate (where it was required) would cost at least £50,000, and this would potentially include an extra 2-4 members of staff and an extra 1-2 vehicles.

The following points were highlighted during debate:

• Councillors Ben Green and Vanessa Smith had requested that the original recommendations from the Joint Environment and Rural & Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee be included in their entirety. These recommendations included the use of trial sites across SKDC ceasing the usage of glyphosate, and the launch of a public consultation on the use of glyphosate.
• The government was due to take a decision on  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23