Work has taken place recently at Milton Avenue for the wildflower meadow planting.

In response to some concerns over the chemicals used, I contacted the council officers in charge of this project for a briefing:

“In order to prepare the ground for the wildflower seed it is necessary to eliminate the existing hardy grass and weeds. This was done with a herbicide application. The Contractor used Rosate 360 in which the active ingredient is Glyphosate. The Contractor has informed us that they erected signs around the area prior to spraying, and that they remained on site until the application was dry – the product is inert and fine to walk on once dry, which would have been a very short time after spraying given the warm conditions. The Contractor has highlighted section 11 of the product data sheet that states:

Skin corrosion/irritation:                               Not irritant. Not classified as a skin irritant under Regulation (EC) 1272/2008

Serious eye damage/irritation:                   Slight irritant. Not classified as an eye irritant under Regulation (EC) 1272/2008

Respiratory or skin sensitization:               The product is not classified as a respiratory or skin sensitizer in animal studies

Germ cell mutagenicity:                                Not classified as mutagenic on the basis of mixture component information

Carcinogenicity:                                                Not classified as carcinogenic on the basis of mixture component information

Reproductive toxicity:                                    Not classified as a reproductive toxicant on the basis of mixture component information

Glyphosate is used by Gloucester City Council in managing weeds and vegetation growth. The bespoke policy can be found here https://www.gloucester.gov.uk/media/5177/herbicide-policy-april-2021.pdf“

Any residents who have further concerns would be welcome to get in touch with me via Sebastian.Field@Gloucester.Gov.uk