Council in row over weedkiller
RESIDENTS have blasted the council’s decision to use weedkiller over health and safety concerns while using strimmers.
Council staff have been told to use weedkiller instead of strimmers to maintain the grass around shrubs and benches in urban areas.
But resident Sean Baguley, who spotted long patches of dead grass at Rainow Village Green, says the use of weedkiller looks ‘ awful’ and will be more harmful to wildlife.
Sean, 58, who lives on Sugar Lane, Rainow, said: “It just looks awful and the weedkiller can’t be good for hedgehogs and slugs.
“There is a village green around the back of my house and the weedkiller can’t do the ground any good either.
“There are just stripes of dead grass everywhere, it looks dreadful.”
Father-of-three Sean dismissed the idea that strimmers were dangerous. Sean, who has lived in the house on Sugar Lane with wife Jill for 16 years, said: “That’s rubbish. Strimmers are used everywhere, which they wouldn’t be if they were dangerous. I emailed them but was just told the weedkiller was not dangerous.”
A spokesperson from Cheshire East Council said the decision to use weedkiller instead of strimming the grass had been made for health and safety reasons.
The spokesperson said: “In urban areas, cutting grass around trees and street furniture on grass verges can present risks such as flying stones and debris which could hit our workforce, pedestrians, parked cars or property.
“In response to a number of near misses of this nature in the past, we now weedspray around trees and street furniture instead of strimming, in order to neatly maintain these very small areas.
“We do try to limit the treatment to the immediate area around the obstruction in order to minimise as much as possible the areas of grass affected.”
Macclesfield gardener Jon Tilley, who runs Dragonfly Garden Design, said: “The use of weedkiller should be kept to a minimum for environmental reasons. Strimmers are a good tool – but not near gravel as they can flick things around.”
Commenting on our Facebook page, Jessica Hammond said: “The weedkiller around the lampposts have killed the grass off. It looks a mess.”
Erika Groeneveld said: “Health and safety over long-term damage to our pollinators and planet... Ehm.”
Marie Gittings said: Slowly killing all the hawthorn trees that once flowered all along Brocklehurst avenue.”
Denise Coppack said: “Surely weed killer is more dangerous than a strimmer?”
But Trevor Prenergast seemed happy about the idea.
He said: “Great decision. Noisy things.”