Decision-makers in Newcastle have promised to stop using weedkiller and plastic grass after declaring a biodiversity emergency in the city.
Newcastle City Council has pledged to “phase out” its use of weedkillers in the next five years, having been criticised in the past for spraying potentially harmful glyphosate-based herbicides. A raft of pledges made by the local authority last week also included creating a meadow where residents can plant seeds and flowers in memory of loved ones instead of holding balloon releases, which have been condemned by environmental groups.
Council chiefs also promised to look into the potential for a natural burial ground in Newcastle, enforcing the use of low-noise fireworks, and avoiding fake grass in permanent landscaping, a feature that sparked complaints after being installed at locations including the Quayside and the Cowgate roundabout. A cross-party motion from the city’s Labour and Liberal Democrat groups was unanimously backed at a council meeting last Wednesday, declaring a biodiversity emergency and committing the council to “protecting and restoring the city’s parks and green spaces, including the Town Moor, to maximise their contribution to biodiversity”.
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Coun Jane Byrne, Labour’s cabinet member responsible for the environment, told colleagues that the plan would help turn Newcastle into a city “as famed for our biodiversity as we are for our industrial heritage”. She committed to work alongside residents worried that allowing wildlife to flourish would leave areas looking untidy, while adding that the set of pledges was a “comprehensive set of actions that will make a real and lasting difference”.
Lib Dem councillor Gareth Kane said: “It is well understood that nature is good for our mental health and physical well-being so we must have nature in the inner city as well as the urban fringes. Creating natural areas in the inner city also helps improve air quality, reduces flood risks and supports bees and other pollinating insects essential to life on earth.
“We’ve become concerned that current policies are not strong enough to ensure nature can thrive in our city. For example, the fake plastic grass recently installed at Cowgate junction not only looks horrible, but will release micro plastics into the environment over time.”
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