The county’s chemical weed treatment programme is in full swing as more than 440km of kerbside weeds have been treated already in just a few weeks – the equivalent distance of just under 5,000 football pitches - and will cover 243 parish areas in total.
The council’s first weed treatment programme begun in June across the county and is expected to finish in August. There will be another treatment later in the year.
Chemical weed treatment is applied directly to weeds in the kerb line of our roads and footways. It will typically take about three to five weeks for the treatment to take effect, after this, road sweepers will come along to remove dead weeds. This is all dependant on the weather – weed treatment cannot be done in wet and windy conditions.
Earlier this year, at the Highways and Transport Committee, the highways weed treatment programme was reviewed and to inform the committee’s decision making, a survey was sent out to 250 parish, town, city and district councils across Cambridgeshire and 162 responses were received.
Cllr Alex Beckett, chair of the Highways and Transport Committee at Cambridgeshire County Council, said: “We have listened to the concerns raised by residents, councillors, district councils and town and parish councils and have taken strong action to make our roads safer and better – with planned chemical treatments now being delivered at least twice a year.
“While some communities really appreciated the reduction in chemical weed killing, a large number did not. We received seven responses from areas who do not wish to be part of the chemical weed treatment programme, so we are working with them on alternative methods.
“Myself, Cllr Shailer and many other councillors have heard a lot from people about weeds, we’re ready for the battle to commence and we hope to get to the root of the issue – all puns aside, we know how serious this is for residents which is why we have been out with the highways crew to see them in action. We followed them in Milton today, but the team will be making their way around 243 parishes so if we haven’t got to you yet, we will be shortly.
“We are working hard to deliver safer and better journeys for all – and are proud of the way that we are a listening council. We will keep this programme under review, and if excessive weed growth is reported, we’ll act on this feedback and tackle those areas accordingly.”
Our programme begun on 24 June and will include 243 parishes. The second treatment will take place in October. This will help to get the weed growth under control before the next growing season.
For those who chose to opt out – Cambridge city, Caxton, Duxford, Lolworth, Morborne, Burwell and Girton – the county is working with them to agree their alternative methods.
For more information on our weed treatment programme (we need to update the website with the full programme) visit our website (https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/weeds).
