Highway Weed spraying Programme

The Council’s in-house weed spraying team carry out an annual weed spray across the adopted highway starting in April through to October. The schedule of this programme is very much determined by the weather conditions as they can not spray in wet weather or strong winds and therefore these factors need to be considered which will affect the programme.

The team use 3 quad bikes to spray surfaces and will re-visit areas of greater need if some areas are missed due to parked vehicles or places where the quad bikes cannot access.

The Council have a duty to ensure the adopted highway is maintained in a safe and passable manner. If highway weeds are not appropriately controlled, this can lead to deterioration of footways and highway surfaces, trip hazards, blocked drainage systems, reduced visibility at junctions and crossings, accessibility issues for pedestrians, and the spread of invasive species.

Strict procedures and guidelines are actively adhered to, ensuring safe and effective weed control. Applications are targeted and selective, and we do not undertake blanket spraying of areas. All operatives conducting spraying activities are appropriately trained, qualified, and hold the required pesticide application certifications and licences. The Council have reduced the highway weed spraying programme over the past number of years.
The Council no longer uses glyphosate in parks, green open space and Countryside sites unless we need to treat invasive species i.e. knotweed, giant hog weed. This practice ceased a few years ago.

The Council are committed to enhancing the environment, biodiversity and maintaining habitats in the Borough. The Greenspace Volunteers commit over 2000 days every year towards maintaining fantastic high quality greenspaces last year under the guidance of the Greenspace Team.  If you would like to get involved in local biodiversity projects, you can get more information here: 

Volunteering in your Community - Tameside MBC