Thanks to the Lib Dem Group on Oldham Council for sending this motion over.
Council recognises that:
- Bees and other pollinators play an essential role in the Earth’s ecosystem being vital for our food crops, gardens and countryside. Eighty percent of all crops reproduce as a result of the intervention of pollinators. The Government has estimated that this intervention is worth around £500 million to the UK food economy alone.
- The number of bees is in decline and some species have become extinct. Pollinator decline is attributed to a variety of factors including disease, climate change, loss of habitat, and the use of insecticides, such as neonicotinoids (or neonics).
- The use of herbicides containing glyphosate also poses a health hazard to humans.
- The value of establishing an action plan for the borough to help support bees and pollinators, and minimising the use of neonicotinoids and glyphosate on its land.
This Council resolves to:
- Cease the use of neonicotinoids and glyphosate on all land that it manages, with the exception where it is absolutely necessary in the control of Schedule 9 plants (under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981) or to protect Council assets.
Establish a bees and pollinators action plan for the borough. Such a plan could include:
- Using planning powers to protecting habitats that are important to bees and pollinators
- Encouraging all new developments to provide for pollinators
- Stopping the use of insecticides on local authority land
- Establishing wildflower meadows on public green spaces and along public highways
- Planting pollinator-friendly plants, such as those identified in the Royal Horticultural Society’s Perfect for Pollinators scheme
- Planting trees for bees, such as blossom-producing, spring-flowering trees
- Identifying measures to enable bee-keeping to thrive in our borough
- Asking the public not to use insecticides in their garden and to plant bee-friendly plants
- Encouraging schools to help children engage with this agenda
- Asking public health bodies and social housing partners to support our efforts
- Ask the Chief Executive to write to the Minister responsible calling on the Government to maintain the temporary ban on the use of neonicotinoids and to fund proper research into the hazards of neonicotinoids and glyphosate on human health and the environment.