Milton Keynes City Council resumes spraying 11 March 2025

It is so disappointing to see the sprayers out in our residential streets in Milton Keynes this week, so early in the year!  In response to local residents’ complaints,  MKCC Councillor Shanika Mahendran has assured us that Milton Keynes City Council’s herbicide/pesticide policy is being reviewed at the moment and the new policy will be coming forward in a couple of months’ time, ie May.  In the meantime, it’s business as usual ….

Our Pesticide Free Milton Keynes action group has not had the opportunity to contribute to this review, ie, to discuss in person our concerns with Councillor Mahendran, to look together at the set of photographs of extensive, unnecessary spraying on green landscaping, and to discuss our research documents outlining the risks of spraying to human health and well being and the declines in nature.  

As Craig Bennett, CEO of the Wildlife Trusts, states - if nature is to recover we need to cut the huge overuse of pesticides. 

The Pesticides Greenest City Position paper, which was adopted by MK Council in December 2021, states :- Milton Keynes across the borough will no longer spray along hedge lines or on living and non living obstacles on open space.  In addition to this there will be no spraying around trees.  
But their contractors have carried on spraying as usual on green landscaping.

So will 2025 be the year of real change - when we see the new policy in action on the ground, ie.  a massive reduction in the use of pesticides in the management of our green spaces in Milton Keynes ……?