Brighton Green councillors have criticised Labour’s recent claims that weeds are one of the primary causes of a £60 million pavement repair backlog.
Brighton Green councillors argue that Labour is making unproven public statements to rationalise the return of using the controversial weedkiller glyphosate.
A Freedom of Information (FOI) request found no evidence to support Labour’s claims that weeds are to blame for expensive pavement repairs.
Cllr Kerry Pickett, who represents the Greens on the City Environment, South Downs & The Sea Committee, said: “It is far more likely that pavement parking – something we know is becoming more and more common on our streets – is causing most of the damage and leaving cracked pavements which, if not repaired quickly, then see weeds growing through the gaps.
“Labour backed itself into a corner by promising to rid the city of weeds and, in a desperate attempt to avoid another embarrassing manifesto U-turn, they are trying to justify using glyphosate in whatever way they can – despite the fact, I may add, that not using glyphosate was also one of their pre-election promises.”
In a recent meeting, Labour councillor and chair of the environment committee, Tim Rowkins, stated the council was spending £50,000 monthly on reactive repairs to pavements.
The FOI asked for a breakdown of the cost of damage due to plants growing in pavements for each financial year since 2013/14, and the response affirmed the council does not “record defects based on their cause.”
Therefore, Green councillors argue Labour cannot blame the backlog on weeds when there are other more likely causes, such as expanding tree roots or a lack of investment in Brighton’s streets.
Cllr Kerry Pickett, said: “Labour needs to stop misleading residents and instead use a robust, data-driven approach to identify the actual cause of pavement damage and do something about it, rather than just conveniently pin the blame on weed growth in the hope people will be more likely to accept them using toxic chemicals on our streets.”
The current Labour administration recently voted to reinstate the use of glyphosate and will spend upwards of £260,000 annually doing so.
Labour previously banned using glyphosate on pavements in the city due to serious health concerns associated with this weedkiller.
According to Pesticide Action Network UK and the Health and Environment Alliance websites, glyphosate is linked to cancer and can cause leukaemia at an early life stage.
This FOI also asked for a breakdown of the yearly amount spent on pavement repairs during the same period.
The council’s response showed that in 2018–19, the amount spent was £412,000, and in 2015–16, the figure spent was £ 1.6 million.
Eight of the ten years covered by the FOI showed a council spend of between £1 million and £1.4 million, suggesting Labour’s decision to ban glyphosate in 2019 hardly affected the yearly spend.
