Oswestry mayor calls for an end to using damaging weedkillers

Councillor Olly Rose wants manual or non-chemical methods to be used and for Oswestry Town Council to investigate the cost of using "foamstream" weed removal which uses heat as the main element in the battle against weeds.

In a notice of motion to the full council meeting on Wednesday, the mayor calls for the council to ask Shropshire Council to stop the use of glyphosates and oppose any use of neonictinoids in Oswestry.

"Shropshire Council has no policy on glyphosate use or guidance on how to use at present," she says.

She also wants the town to make a policy of not using glyphosphate or neonictinoids on its land, including allotments.

"At present bio degradable weedkillers are used in our parks and although these may be a safer option , as research continues these may be found to be toxic," said Councillor Rose.

"At present most research shows them as very low risk. But manual or non-chemical methods would be a safer choice."

"We should investigate the cost of using foamstream methods as an alternative, with manual removal of weeds being the optimum choice."

However, she says there should the an exception for the necessary control of invasive plants such as Japanese knotweed - stem injection could be used rather than spray - or Giant Hogweed.

Councillor Rose said that in 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer published its findings into the relationship between cancer and glyphosate – a herbicide – and classified it as possibly carcinogenic to humans – it had scientific data that it definitely caused malignant tumours in animals she said.

"In this time of species depletion should we be removing plants that provide food necessary for all manner of insects at all? Or could we trial leaving weeds - which are often simply wildflowers - to grow in certain areas to test public opinion. They can of course be manually removed if causing hindrance to pedestrians. Destroying these plants in iteself causes biodiversity loss."

Wednesday's meeting will be held at 7pm at the Guildhall.