Managing weeds

We’re aware some residents are concerned about the volume of pavement weeds long grass on verges over the summer. 

We have been busy clearing weeds throughout the summer but there have been more weeds on pavements than we’d have liked there to be.  

We are sorry about this. We faced a backlog of weeding in the spring due to problems recruiting enough seasonal staff to deal with the increased amount of weeding needed during the spring and summer months.  

We also had delays in getting equipment to help us clear weeds. 

This has meant we haven't been able to do manual pavement weed clearing and grass cutting as frequently as we'd planned.

We ended the use of Glyphosate for weedkilling on hard surfaces in 2019 with cross-party agreement.  

The decision to move to a pesticide-free approach was made to lessen impacts of pesticides on human and environmental health, biodiversity and the natural environment, including our water systems. 

It does mean clearing pavement weeds on pavements is a lengthier task and results in more visible weeds.  

We’ve employed contractors who’ve been working alongside our teams to clear weeds since June.  

We also now have a number of industrial strimmers and a small vehicle that can remove pavement weeds, which is helping to speed up clearing weeds across the city. 

All our street cleaning staff working on foot rounds were also weeding when they could, and we offered overtime to operational staff in Cityclean and City Parks to help weed clearance. 

However, due to continuing struggles to recruit enough staff to cover the work required, the weed clearance was not moving as fast as we’d like. We are sorry for any problems residents are experiencing. 

If weeds are causing an obstruction on a pavement, please let us know using our report a problem online form.