Plans to re-introduce a harmful chemical to Cornish communities have been put on hold amid public outcry – proving that community action DOES make a difference!
It’s after Cornwall Council announced plans to start spraying glyphosate along highways and public areas, in a bid to manage ‘weeds’ (wild plants) as part of a county-wide initiative.
The problem? It’s got links to cancer, birth defects, biodiversity loss and water pollution (read all about it, here). It basically poisons the soil and water, kills insects and makes humans seriously ill.
However, after a Cornwall-wide petition reached more than 8,000 signatures (our own Penzance petition reached 1,600!), a protest was held outside County Hall, and local councils and organisations joined the call to condemn the move, Cornwall councillors overwhelmingly voted on Tuesday (21st April) to pause the action.
What that means: this pause will allow time for widespread public consultation, alongside controlled experiments on alternative methods of weed control.
What Cornwall Council said
In a statement released after the meeting today, Cornwall Council released the following statement on social media:
“We understand that people have very strong feelings about our public realm proposals.
Members have expressed clear concerns, and we have also heard the strength of feeling reflected in the public questions raised today, including about the way these plans were communicated to town and parish councils.
“We accept that the process was not good enough, and we recognise the need for a clearer timetable.
“Our responsibility is to keep Cornwall’s streets, footpaths and kerbsides safe, accessible and well maintained. But we also recognise that this must be done in a way that earns the confidence of members, town and parish councils and the wider public.
“We’ll now carefully consider the points raised both in the motion and during the debate – including opt-out arrangements, and how any next steps are communicated.
“In the meantime, we will continue with manual weed control as far as possible.”
Okay, what happens now?
So, what does the pause mean for us? It means we need to make sure we’re having our voices heard through the process, to ensure there’s no doubt that re-introducing such a destructive chemical is the WRONG move.
While we await the announcement of official public consultation plans from Cornwall Council, you can continue to sign the Cornwall-wide petition and our local petition, because the more signatures we have, the more strength of feeling we can prove.
Write to your MP Andrew George here because there’s a bill going through parliament right now that could see glyphosate banned… so we may never be in this situation again. You can also send this template letter to your Cornwall councillors (access your Cornwall Councillor here).
Don’t forget to tell your friends, families and colleagues, too – the more voices shouting loud, the better!
And finally…
A huge thank you to all of the volunteers, organisations, councils and communities that stood up and called for a stop to plans that could have detrimental impacts on future generations. By banding together as a community, this proves we can make a difference where it matters most.
For updates on this issue, follow us on Facebook and Instagram, where we’ll be sharing the latest petitions, events and news to help you take action, and help us protect people and planet for years to come.
