PARTS of Liskeard are set to be left unsprayed for a year as the council trials the benefits of going herbicide-free.

After much discussion of the pros and cons of such a scheme, Town Councillors agreed to the concept of leaving Church Street and Church Street South untouched by chemical sprays for 12 months.

Residents on these streets will be informed of the process and the perceived benefits and drawbacks via a leaflet – and throughout the trial, a noticeboard will be updated showing what plants and insects are thriving nearby. There’ll be a Facebook page where local people can leave feedback and in the event of overwhelming negative responses, the trial will be halted, says the Council.

The Council says that it will be asking residents in other areas of the town if they’d like to be part of such a trial – although weedspraying in the town is set to begin imminently.

Liskeard Town Council’s Climate Emergency Working Group has committed to a three year period to progress towards eliminating the use of herbicides in urban areas. It says that several towns in Cornwall have already become chemical free in the local council-maintained areas, including Wadebridge and Camelford.

“Herbicides have been shown to cause long term damage to the environment and people’s health so we are looking at ways to reduce the use of these in Liskeard by not spraying the harmless plants that appear along our roads and paths,” said the working group.

“The compromise that is needed to this approach is that the town may appear untidy for some residents. The spontaneous plants (usually referred to as weeds) that appear will be regularly monitored and any causing obstruction or damage will be manually removed.”

Liskeard Town Council currently spends £4,000 each year on spraying the streets with herbicide and if Liskeard does go herbicide-free, this money could be used to deal with the few spontaneous plants that need to be manually removed, the group adds.