CUTTING pesticide use for weed control in York will be the focus of an online meeting of cross-party councillors today (Wednesday, May 4).

Pesticide Action Network (PAN) UK and the Pesticide Free York campaign will be discussing how City of York Council carries out weed control after its methods came in for criticism earlier this year.

In January, the council approved the continued use of glyphosate, a controversial herbicide, for two more years.

Councillors said this contradicted the authority’s own pollinator strategy, approved in 2021, which said York would protect pollinators.

In recent years, a number of studies have concluded that glyphosate could be hazardous to bees.

The council later agreed to “commit to phasing out the use of glyphosate”, as well as offering individual council wards the chance to have two sprays of the chemical per year in their area, rather than the usual three.

But concerns remain about there being no timescale for the phasing out, as well as the level of consideration given to other chemical-free methods.

Emma Pavans de Ceccatty, from PAN UK, said: “It’s a shame to see that City of York Council continue to undermine their own positive measures for biodiversity by spraying pesticides.

“There is no reason for York’s residents and wildlife to be exposed to toxic chemicals. There are many viable chemical-free weeding alternatives available to make York a greener and safer place.”

Labour’s Cllr Kallum Taylor said: “Although people will have differing views on which areas should or shouldn’t be left to grow more, reducing the use of pesticides doesn’t strictly mean less weed control.

“We need to create the space for communities and decision makers to fully understand what real progress on a city-wide basis actually looks like as the council’s just not there yet.”

The Lib Dems’ Cllr Christian Vassie said the meeting could “lead the way and persuade the council to engage more constructively with protecting biodiversity.”

Independent Cllr Dave Taylor said action on the council’s pollinator strategy had been “limited”.

“Developing a weed control programme to phase-out pesticides which kill bees and other pollinators should be an open goal for the administration to prove that their strategy is more than just a piece of paper,” he added.

The Green Party’s Cllr Rosie Baker said: “All are welcome to help get involved with the city-wide effort to reduce pesticide use and protect our vital pollinators.”

The meeting will take place via Zoom on Wednesday, May 4 and will start at 7pm, finishing no later than 8.30pm. The Zoom ID for the meeting is 813 7706 7523 but participants are encouraged to register on this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUucO6oqDwvGNfRxEX3e71wVbnYbyJd6C7-