Cllr Roy Gerstner – Community Activist

Bill & Ben & Weed

The latest ‘hot subject’ – No Weed Control this year – blame the ‘Council’ – well yes Cambridgeshire County Council has and is responsible for weed control.

Weed killing policy proposed by Cambridgeshire County Council leaders described as ‘bizarre’ by opposition.

Proposals to cut chemical spraying and only deal with weeds causing a ‘hazard’ have been blasted by opposition councillors on Cambridgeshire County Council.

The new policy which is proposed as part of cost cutting measures and to help protect the county’s biodiversity is due to be discussed at Tuesday’s (7) full council meeting.

Essentially the policy will see a trial in Cambridge of no more use of chemicals, or cyclic spraying to deal with weeds – but it looks set to spread to the rest of the county as the joint administration is setting aside £40,000 to spend on consultation with town and parish councils.

The policy stipulates that when highways is contacted about weeds by the community they will be assessed by a technical officer who will then have the power to decide whether or not they should be removed.
However, only weeds causing an “immediate safety hazard would be removed”.

The timescale for dealing with weeds is up to 10 weeks – two weeks to assess the situation and up to a further eight weeks to deal with weeds that are deemed to be a problem.

Councillor Steve Count, leader of the opposition Conservatives has lambasted the policy and said: “Weeds to be humanely relocated, is the only way to make the new proposal more bizarre.”

He claims the joint administration has ignored officers’ advice in drawing up the policy.

Councillor Count said: “We all know weeds can cause damage to path and road surfaces so not dealing with them could cause even more problems for our roads and pavements which are already in a bad state of repair.

However, only weeds causing an “immediate safety hazard would be removed”.

The timescale for dealing with weeds is up to 10 weeks – two weeks to assess the situation and up to a further eight weeks to deal with weeds that are deemed to be a problem.

“Officers say cyclic weeding killing using chemicals is the most efficient method of controlling weeds. Weeds growing in gutters can cause localised flooding problems, something parts of our area already suffer and this could just make it worse.

“Officers expect there to be an increase in public enquiries as a result of the new policy and a reduction in satisfaction of the highways service in general.

©Fenland Citizen