Pause on using chemical weedkiller in Cornwall following protest
The council’s Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Leigh Frost admitted his cabinet had “absolutely got this wrong” on the way the treatment programme had been communicated
Last updated 21st Apr 2026
Cornwall councillors have voted in favour of pausing the reintroduction of a controversial chemical weed treatment until a “meaningful public consultation process” has taken place.
The council’s Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Leigh Frost admitted his cabinet had “absolutely got this wrong” on the way the treatment programme had been communicated to parish and town councils across Cornwall.
The decision by Cornwall Council’s Lib Dem / Independent cabinet to sanction the council to use glyphosate weedkiller in diluted drop form on roads and pavements in urban areas has led to an outpouring of anger over the past week.
Up to 100 people protested outside Lys Kernow / County Hall in Truro this morning when councillors arrived to debate the matter, while 40 public questions on the issue were tabled at the start of the council meeting.
MPs, parish and town councils, Cornwall Wildlife Trust and many other bodies have spoken out about health and environmental concerns connected to the use of the chemical, which the council originally agreed to stop using 13 years ago. More than 13,000 members of the public have also signed petitions against the move.
Over 200 health professionals from across Cornwall, including 70 doctors, signed a letter this week highlighting their health concerns about the use of the chemical.
There was also anger that town and parish councils had only been given three weeks to decide whether to opt out of using glyphosate in their areas. Many commented that in a short period, that had also included the Easter break and when many budgets had already been set, they hadn’t had time to meet to discuss the cost and ethical ramifications.
Green Party member Cllr Drew Creek introduced a motion to pause any work to allow for further consultation and to recognise the “wholly inadequate” three-week opt-out window provided to councils.
He said the World Health Organization had classed glyphosate as probably carcinogenic to humans and there was mounting evidence of harm to bees.
Citing the huge wave of feeling against the move, he said: “This is not opposition to clean streets, it is a community that feel this is being done to them rather than with them. This motion asks us to put that right – to pause, to consult and genuinely collaborate to give town and parish councils real time to work up alternatives alongside Cornwall Council.”
During an at times heated debate, leader Cllr Frost admitted the cabinet had “absolutely got this wrong”.
He said: “I understand why this issue has become so emotive. People care deeply about their health, their streets, their environment, biodiversity and their children.”
He said that no scientific evidence-based papers on the use of glyphosate conclude that it should be banned outright and “questioning dosage levels is very different from saying something should never be used at all”.
Cllr Frost added: “We are not reintroducing widespread spraying, we were never planning to and we will never do it.
“The public realm improvement plan was a mixed method approach, with the vast majority of weed control being manual and mechanical.” He added that controlled drop application of a diluted solution would only be used if there was not an effective alternative.
Cllr Frost said: “I want to speak to the town and parish councils. We absolutely got this wrong – how it was communicated. You should not have felt railroaded. You should not have been given unrealistic deadlines. That was not our intention – I am sorry.”
A number of cross-party councillors commented that councils across Cornwall had been treated badly. Labour group leader Cllr Kate Ewert said being given only three weeks to respond had been “extraordinarily disrespectful to our parish and town councils”.
While highlighting the health concerns of using glyphosate, many councillors also noted that weeds on Cornwall’s roads and pavements have got worse in recent years and were damaging infrastructure leading to safety concerns.
Summing up, Cllr Creek added: “This cabinet got very animated a month ago at their water summit saying South West Water shouldn’t be pumping sewage into our seas and yet here we are essentially pumping chemicals into our oceans around this county.”
His motion to pause the start of glyphosate treatment in Cornwall to allow for further public consultation and to give parish and town councils more clarity on the financial terms of opting out was won by 61 votes in favour with seven against and six abstentions.