Volunteer Weeding Scheme Takes Root
FIONA MCGARRY speaks to Liz Farr about how the residents of Clinton Crescent, St Leonards came together to stop the use of toxic glyphosate in their street
In December 2023 East Sussex County Council (ESCC) approved the use of glyphosate-based products to treat street weeds on the authority’s highway network, despite its links to cancer and the declining bee populations.
ESCC said: “At the present time, there is no alternative solution that can be effectively used to treat weeds over a highway network of over 1,900 miles of road channels and footways.”
But if you’re concerned about your street being regularly sprayed with toxic chemicals, there is a scheme which allows you to ‘opt’ out (see Opt Out and Meet The Neighbours in Issue 222).
Currently only about 10 streets in Hastings and St Leonards are signed up to the ‘opt out’ scheme. Liz Farr lives in Clinton Crescent and became aware of it after reading a newsletter from the Green councillor, Tracey Lord. Participation requires that a minimum 60% of residents agree to be part of the scheme and that there are sufficient volunteers to “undertake some form of weed maintenance”.
Liz canvassed opinion in her street and found that most residents were keen to try an alternative to having their street sprayed with glyphosate. Consequently, she contacted the council in the spring of 2023, and Clinton Crescent has been signed up for the last two summers.
In Clinton Crescent, most residents who signed up help by taking care of their own frontage when they can. There are also about 11 regular volunteer residents who get out and remove the curb and gutter weeds by hand, mainly between May and September. The busiest time of year is June and July, when there is some sort of weeding to do most weekends. Membership of the scheme necessitates good communication – there’s a Whatsapp group for all volunteers so that everyone knows what needs to be done each week.
There’s another WhatsApp group to keep the whole street abreast of what’s going on, even if people don’t have the time or inclination to join in the weeding and clearing. Liz says that an unexpected benefit of joining the scheme is the growth of community spirit amongst the residents of the Crescent. When they first signed up, it was discovered that there were two separate WhatsApp groups for their street. They have now amalgamated into one and it feels like “the whole street has bonded together and is more aware of isolated or vulnerable residents”.
The council’s 2023 report on the volunteer weeding scheme doesn’t take this positive effect on the community into account. It is slightly ‘lukewarm’ about the success of the weeding scheme, claiming that there were: “mixed results in terms of the quality of maintenance on volunteer roads” and that “The insurance paperwork for volunteer groups remains the main issue with volunteer weed maintenance, with some roads not completing any paperwork for the year and others not completing the documentation fully.”
Liz admits that setting things up can be quite bureaucratic and that some groups might be put off by the amount of form-filling and the emphasis on safety (They have been issued with high-vis jackets and safety goggles even though Clinton Crescent doesn’t have much traffic). She passed their scheme’s details to the council in the hope that other volunteer weeding groups in the area might be able to get in touch and share ideas and suggestions, but they haven’t managed to make contact with any other groups yet.
Nevertheless, Liz emphasises that the benefits of the scheme outweigh the problems. It has even led to further initiatives in Clinton Crescent. “We lost a [diseased] street tree last year which the council removed, but unfortunately could not replace because of budget restrictions. Instead, we had a ‘whole street tabletop sale’ to raise the money to replace the tree ourselves.”
They are planning to plant the new tree in October and there are hopes that in the future they will be able to raise money for more trees – and even to return to the days when long-term residents recall the crescent being lined with trees – 30-40 yards apart.
They have also designed a poster advertising their efforts, which is displayed along their street to catch people’s eye. They are hoping that the positive energy and growth of community spirit in Clinton Crescent will inspire other streets to take action to reduce the use of toxic chemicals across the whole town.
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