Weed control

To support biodiversity, we have created diverse grassland habitats in many of our green spaces. Pittville Park, Benhall Open Space, and Springfields Park are just a few where extensive natural grassland is supporting bird species where they had not previously existed.

In other areas, we have allowed intensively cut grass to grow long which supports valuable pollinating insect populations, and established perennial planting schemes to replace seasonal bedding in town centre parks.

Weed spraying

Update - 31 May 2025

This year the first weed spray was started in May and due to the amount of weed growth seen across the borough we have decided that a second weed spray is needed this year. The second weed spray will start in September 2025 and will target areas across the town, spraying around obstacles, such as signposts in grass verges and on paved areas and road edges. This year, to reduce the amount of weed spray used, we didn’t spray around tree bases in grass verges or on paved areas. We also considered not spraying around obstacles such as street furniture in paved areas but decided to maintain this targeted weed spray due to the amount of weeds visible. Whilst we have paused our trial of dropping down to only one weed spray per year, we will carefully monitor other approaches to weed control available.

Road channels are sprayed to prevent unwanted weed growth that may have an effect on drainage or create trip hazards for the public. Weed spraying is also used to clear weeds from hard landscape areas, footways and around non-living obstacles, such as lighting columns, signage, and street furniture. The weed spraying also targets highways and council owned car parks.

The operator, who carries out the weed spraying on our behalf, holds an appropriate NPTC certificate of competence and will have calibrated application equipment. The nozzle they use will take into account the volume of application and other product label recommendations to avoid drift and excessive application. Before starting application, the operator will check that the weather is suitable, public safety and due regard has been taken of nearby watercourses, drains, other environmental factors and neighbouring properties.

In 2025, we are trialling a different type of weed spray around the obstacles across the borough. Around the obstacles and elsewhere our contractor will be using Rosate 360 TF and Logic Oil. This is an efficient and cost-effective method for the broad-spectrum treatment of weeds. It combines the activity of a residual and total systemic herbicide. Use of the mixture can reduce the amount of glyphosate applied and can control weeds for up to eight months, reducing the need for strimming and mowing. We have been advised that this is safe for animals and wildlife.

For more information about the chemicals used during the weed spray in Cheltenham, please visit our con t ractor's website. In Cheltenham please note that the contractor will only be using Amega Duo in mix with Codacide.

Weed spraying programme update - 31 May 2025

Scheduled weed spraying of all hard surface areas has been successfully completed. Our contractor will now be focusing on car parks and areas which were previously inaccessible to quad bikes, using knapsack sprayers. The team will then begin spraying soft surface areas, following the planned sequence across all zones as per our schedule.

Please note that weather conditions may affect the progress of the programme. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation as we work to maintain clean and safe public spaces.

Seed growth and die back

After weeds have been sprayed, die back will be seen for up to three to six weeks and Ubico, the council's environmental services provider, will begin the process of manual weed removal across the borough as soon as possible afterwards and over the coming months. The manual weed removal methods, including the weed ripper, are very effective to control weeds but as we have seen in previous years it takes a lot of time, so we do ask residents to be patient as we gradually move around the borough. The more manual removal we, or residents, are able to do the less weed spraying is needed. During 2020 and more recently, a lot of effort was put into a trial of various different methods of weed control to avoid weed spraying and we still continue each year to try to find the most environmentally friendly method. At the moment the most efficient and cost effective method is weed spraying and we do as much manual weed removal as possible with the resources we have available.

Manual weed removal teams will focus their efforts in the heavier footfall areas, such as near churches, hospitals, schools and local shop fronts as well as along bus routes. Any specific health and safety issues with tall weed growth in pavements will also be prioritised and we ask the public to report these to us.

To reduce weed growth in gullies on roads, Ubico will also continue to sweep the roads with the mechanical road sweepers which not only get rid of dirt and debris on the edge of roads but also stop the germination of more weeds. Parked cars do prevent this activity being carried out successfully.

Hedge cutting and alleyway clearance

Hedge cutting across the town is suspended from the beginning of March until August or September unless the bird nesting season is extended. This is in line with Section 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981). If hedges do need cutting in the spring/summer period for reasons of health and safety, a full inspection will be carried out. Alleyway clearance (for example mowing and strimming) for highways alleyways is due to start in September or October 2025 and the alleyways to be cleared will be listed below nearer the time.

Ground flailing (cutting) the large stretches of grass verges on semi rural roads will be starting at the end of June through to October.

Ground maintenance around Cheltenham’s publicly owned trees

After the one annual weed spray, we will continue to carry out maintenance of soft green growth (weeds or long grass) around the base of trees in grass verges. However to further support biodiversity, where possible we will leave this to grow longer by up to half a metre around the base of the tree trunk with an annual careful cut towards the end of the growing season.

It is hoped that this will:

encourage wildlife around tree bases
reduce water evaporation thus enabling more water available to tree roots
reduce the incidence of mower and strimmer damage to tree roots, trunks, and low canopy branches
reduce the requirement to use herbicides

Where trees are growing in parks, gardens and open spaces, again green growth will be left under most tree canopies to grow delivering the same benefits to the trees as described above.

In more formal garden settings such as Montpellier Gardens, Imperial Gardens and parts of Sandford Ornamental Gardens, green growth will be cut closer to tree bases so as not to impede pedestrian traffic during festivals and other events, as well as to help maintain the more formal visual setting of the park.

We hope that the reduction in grass cutting will enable lower tree canopy growth. This will reduce levels of light reaching the ground which should reduce the rate of green growth around the immediate environment of the trees giving trees a more “natural” appearance.

However, low tree canopy growth alongside formal paths will continue to be cut to an appropriate height to allow for unimpeded pedestrian access. Green growth will usually be cut down regularly where it is growing close to such formal paths.