Swansea Council’s battle with the weeds goes to a second round

Swansea Council’s streetscene teams are taking on roadside weeds for a second round in their battle with the perennial pests.

The council has already treated 1,500km of roadside around the city over the summer with weedkiller to keep the unwanted plants at bay.

The move comes after requests from councillors and the public to tackle the weed problem which has been particularly prevalent this summer.

Cllr David Hopkins, Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for Transportation and Environment, said: “Weeds are both unsightly and resilient. While you can never completely get rid of them, we are doing all we can to keep them back as much as possible.

“We’ve had complaints from residents and councillors and where necessary we’ve also sent our NEAT team and other staff to pull weeds and treat them in places where they’ve been a particular problem, like in the marina area.

“But this latest work should not only kill-off many weeds ahead of the winter, but prevent grow-back next spring too.”

Weeds can’t be treated in wet weather because the treatment will wash away but it’s expected all 1,500km of the council’s roadside network will have got a visit from the teams in the next few weeks.

The normal growing season for weeds ends in October but council teams will keep up the work beyond that time to help prevent weed re-growth next year as well.

Tourism operators in Swansea have welcomed the council’s war on the weeds.

Tony McGettrick, of tourist operators’ organisation Tourism Swansea Bay, said: “The fewer unsightly weeds there are, the more people will enjoy Swansea Bay, our wonderful attractions and the brilliant wild flowers initiative which has seen such a great deal of positive feedback.”