Weed Control
Flintshire County Council would like to hear your views on how it manages weeds on roads, pavements and other public spaces across the county.
The primary purpose of weed control across Flintshire is to maintain public safety, accessibility and highway asset integrity. Uncontrolled weed growth can obstruct footways, interfere with drainage systems, damage highway surfaces, restrict visibility and negatively affect the appearance of public spaces.
Weed control supports both the council's legal highway responsibilities and its wider environmental objectives.
For many years, councils across the UK (including Flintshire) have used glyphosate to control weeds.
Following an all-member workshop in January 2023, Cabinet gave approval on 14th March 2023 for the council to reduce its use of glyphosate, joining 164 other councils across the UK. This has been done to:
- reduce unnecessary pesticide exposure in public spaces and move towards safer alternatives.
- protect nature and our environment.
- help reduce the risk of herbicides entering watercourses.
- follow government guidance.
Flintshire's transition away from glyphosate-based herbicides has been achieved with the help of external grant funding.
The Council now controls weed growth by:
- only using glyphosate-based herbicides in situations where it is not possible to use alternatives.
- using a combination of alternatives across our roads and pavements, parks, sports pitches and green spaces this includes, cutting, strimming, flailing, mowing, mechanical brushing or ripping, hot foam, hot water/steam, heat burners, non-glyphosate sprays, manual hand weeding, community weeding.
- monitoring and trialling new techniques and only using targeted herbicide application for invasive non-native species.
- different management techniques for different situations - no single method can directly replace glyphosate use and alternatives require more frequent treatment, which in turn uses more resources.
How this affects the way we do things:
- Alternative methods can require more frequent visits and greater employee time compared with traditional herbicide treatment.
- Due to the quantity of pavements, roads and public spaces across the whole of Flintshire, it is not possible to maintain all locations, to the same standard, at all times.
- Locations are prioritised and resources are directed to where the greatest benefits can be achieved:
- main road kerb lines,
- safety-critical locations,
- area Coordinator nominated hotspots,
- town centres and high-profile areas,
- ad-hoc reports and community requests.
What is glyphosate:
- Glyphosate is the chemical used in many weedkillers. It is absorbed through the surface of plants and moves through the plant, preventing it from producing the proteins it needs to grow, eventually causing the plant to die. It is a herbicide, which means it is designed to kill plants. Pesticide is the general term used for any herbicide, insecticide, pesticide or fungicide.
- Glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide in the world and is also widely used for weed control by local authorities.
- In 2015 the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) categorised glyphosate as a probable human carcinogen. Other regulatory organisations have assessed the risks differently and continue to approve glyphosate for use under controlled conditions.
- The largest UK-wide survey on pesticide use in towns and cities, identifies Glyphosate as the dominant chemical used in our urban environments. It makes up at least 90% of the pesticides used in public spaces.
- Glyphosate can indirectly affect our natural environment by disrupting food chains, reducing sources of food and shelter and contaminating soil and watercourses, harming aquatic species.
- Products containing glyphosate are regulated and must be used in accordance with the conditions of their approval and relevant guidance. The way they are applied, where they are used and the precautions taken are important considerations when managing vegetation.
- The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is currently assessing whether the approval of glyphosate can be renewed in the UK and currently, it is approved until 15 December 2026 to allow for a renewal assessment to be completed. The HSE is assessing whether glyphosate continues to meet the legislative approval criteria for an active substance. This will take account of any new scientific, technical and regulatory knowledge.
- In its report 'Underestimated and Overlooked - the silent impact of pesticides on childen' Unicef outlines how children are particularly vulnerable to pesticides, which are widely present in the environment and can contaminate air, soil, food and water.
What is a carcinogen:
- Glyphosate was classified as “probably carcinogenic to humans” in 2015 by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
- A carcinogen is a substance, chemical or other exposure that has been shown to have the potential to cause cancer or increase the risk of developing cancer.
- Being described as a carcinogen does not necessarily mean that exposure will cause cancer. The level and duration of exposure, how the substance enters the body and the amount of exposure can all affect the risk.
What are Welsh Government's priorities for Nature:
The Welsh Government's biodiversity priorities are set out in the Nature Recovery Action Plan (NRAP) 2026, alongside the 30by30 Framework for Wales. The overall direction is not simply to protect existing wildlife, but to halt and reverse biodiversity loss and restore resilient ecosystems. It recognises that nature in Wales is under unprecedented pressure and ecosystems are not resilient to current pressures and adopts the vision of the Global Biodiversity Framework:
“By 2050, biodiversity is valued, conserved, restored and wisely used, maintaining ecosystem services, sustaining a healthy planet and delivering benefits essential for all people”
The 2026 NRAP is designed to guide coordinated action across government, public bodies and communities. Actions are set across 6 key aims which align with international commitments set out in the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF);
- Aim 1: Protect, restore and effectively manage ecosystems to build their resilience.
- Aim 2: Safeguard species and create space for species to flourish.
- Aim 3: Tackle key pressures on species, habitats and ecosystems.
- Aim 4: Establish effective governance and capacity to deliver.
- Aim 5: Embed biodiversity through engagement and awareness raising to support effective decision making at every level.
- Aim 6: Improve our evidence and monitoring.
Aim 3 "Tackle key pressures on species, habitats and ecosystems." aligns with global target 7 to “Reduce pollution to levels that are not harmful to biodiversity”. It identifies pollution as one of the key pressures contributing to biodiversity decline and says that Wales needs to “anticipate, prevent and mitigate the causes of biodiversity loss at source.”
Under “Reducing pollution”, the NRAP says Welsh Government will update its Natural Resources Policy to include actions to reduce pressures such as pollution that affect biodiversity and ecosystems.
It also commits to a statutory target to drive action to reduce pollution, subject to the new biodiversity legislation coming into force, the Environment (Principles, Governance and Biodiversity Targets) (Wales) Bill (which has been passed by the Senedd).
Here at Flintshire we are managing more of our grasslands sustainably to address the climate and nature crisis. Not all vegetation is a weed - find out more about our wildflower sites.
Have your say:
We hope this has given you a better understanding of the Council's approach to weed control and its use of glysophate and we would invite you take a few minutes to complete the survey below.
The feedback you provide will be considered by County Councillors and will help them when they make future decisions on how best the council should continue to balance:
- maintaining safe and accessible public spaces,
- managing costs effectively,
- reducing pesticide use,
- protecting community and environmental health and wellbeing.
The survey is open between 12 October and 8 November 2026.