Use of pesticides by council
Dear Information Officer,
This is a request under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004. I would like to request the following information:
Do you manage your open spaces yourself or are they are outsourced?
If they are outsourced, what is the name of the company/companies that manage them?
What is your policy for weed control in the open spaces - parks, sports fields, grass verges etc?
Do you use herbicides containing glyphosate eg Roundup, Weedol etc
If yes, what do you use
What areas have been sprayed with herbicides containing glyphosate?
What is your policy on the use of glyphosate?
What precautions were taken ahead of its use?
For the calendar years 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, please can you tell me:
The volume of these herbicides you have you used
The cost
I would like to receive the information electronically - preferably in an Excel format. If you feel that a substantive response to this request is not possible within a reasonable time frame, or the request is too broad or too vague, I would be grateful if you could contact me and provide assistance as to how I could refine the request.
Many thanks.
Juliet Ferguson
Dear Ms Ferguson,
Thank you for your email of 1 July 2022 to Ards and North Down Borough Council.
We confirm your request for information regarding use of pesticides will be processed by Ards and North Down Borough Council in accordance with the Environmental Information Regulations 2004. Accordingly, you will receive the information you have requested within 20 working days of the date of receipt of your request by the Council unless the Council does not hold the information or there is a reason to withhold all or part of the information requested. Council will write to you in any event.
For further information in relation to the Environmental Information Regulations we would refer you to the Information Commissioner's Office website, www.ico.org.uk
If you wish to discuss the above, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Regards,
FOI Team
Ards and North Down Borough Council
Town Hall
The Castle
Bangor
BT20 4BT
Tel: 0300 013 3333
Dear Ms Ferguson,
We refer to the above matter and write further to our acknowledgement
email of 4^th July 2022.
Your request has been processed in accordance with the Environmental
Information Regulations 2004 and please see Ards and North Down Borough
Council’s response below.
1. Do you manage your open spaces yourself or are they are outsourced?
Yes.
2. If they are outsourced, what is the name of the company/companies that
manage them? n/a
3. What is your policy for weed control in the open spaces - parks,
sports fields, grass verges etc? See attached ‘ANDBC Herbicide
Reduction Policy’.
4. Do you use herbicides containing glyphosate eg. Roundup, Weedol etc If
yes, what do you use: Round Up Probiactive, Nomix Hilite and Nomix
Dual.
5. What areas have been sprayed with herbicides containing glyphosate? A
mix of public amenity locations within the ownership of Ards and North
Down Borough Council.
6. What is your policy on the use of glyphosate? See attached ‘ANDBC
Herbicide Reduction Policy’.
7. What precautions were taken ahead of its use? All staff required to
carry out chemical applications, as a legal requirement, are trained
in FEPA Pa1 and Pa6a. All Refresher training is carried out every 3
years to ensure good practice. By employing an integrated approach the
use of chemicals is under constant review and replaced with
alternatives as appropriate and outlined within our attached policy.
8. For the calendar years 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, please can you
tell me: The volume of these herbicides you have you used and The
cost. In 2019/20 200 litres & 2020/21 250 litres. The associated costs
are not available. We have no usage records before 2019.
Should you require clarification on any part of this response, please do
not hesitate to contact us.
We trust this is of some assistance. However, should you be unhappy with
the response you may request an Internal Review by contacting
[1][Ards and North Down Borough Council request email]. Please note that requests for Internal
Reviews must be submitted within two months from the date of this
response. Further information on the Internal Review process is available
on the Council’s website. In the event you are unhappy with the outcome of
any Internal Review conducted by Council you may apply to the Information
Commissioner's Office (ICO) for a review of our response. Please note that
the ICO generally expects Internal Reviews to be completed prior to
reviewing the decisions of public bodies.
Regards,
FOI Team
Ards and North Down Borough Council
Town Hall
The Castle
Bangor
BT20 4BT
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your request in writing, stating clearly who you are and your query to:
Data Protection Officer, Ards and North Down Borough Council, Town Hall,
The Castle, Bangor, BT20 4BT, email:
[email address], tel: 0300 013 3333 or visit the
Council’s website at www.ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk/privacy-and-....
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