Brighton and Hove: Weedkiller brought back
A controversial herbicide will be used to treat overgrown weeds in Brighton and Hove
Councillors in Brighton resisted protests as they voted to reintroduce a controversial herbicide in the city last night.
The City Council had previously banned the use of glyphosate in 2019, but have reversed this due to overgrown weeds in the city.
It was previously banned after fears it was linked to cancer and a decline in bee populations.
Contractors are expected to start using an oil-based version of glyphosate weedkiller on the streets of Brighton and Hove within months.
Brighton and Hove City Council will have to find an estimated £300,000 in the budget for the coming financial year to pay for the push to tackle the burgeoning weeds.
Councillors voted for the return of the controversial herbicide at a meeting at Hove Town Hall on Tuesday 23 January, almost five years after a decision was made to end its use.
The vote followed five years of unmanaged weed growth, which drew half a dozen plaudits but dozens of formal complaints including two insurance claims, one of which ended in a £210 payout.
The decision – by the council’s City Environment, South Downs and the Sea Committee – to employ contractors reflects the struggle that the council has had in recruiting people to remove the weeds manually.
The contractors will be expected to use a “controlled droplet” approach with the herbicide – sold commercially as Roundup – applying it to individual weeds rather than spraying it as previously.
Environmental campaigners gathered outside Hove Town Hall before the meeting to voice their disapproval.
Nick Mole, Policy Officer for Pesticide Action Network UK said:
"It is disappointing and it is really down to poor leadership.
"It doesn't just kill all the weeds, the weedkiller can have impacts on non target species including human health but also pets and other wildlife.
"It can also run off into water".
Labour councillor Tim Rowkins, who chairs the committee, said that it was necessary to keep parks and open spaces glyphosate-free and that the council was committed to doing so.
He said that other councils – including in East Sussex, Oxford and Edinburgh – had reintroduced the weedkiller after failing to find a viable alternative.
Councillor Rowkins said: “A conventional glyphosate application would have been the easiest option. It’s what we used to do. It’s what the vast majority of other councils do. We know it works and it is cost-effective".