A COUNCILLOR has slammed the County Council sherking their responsibility and not taking care of the abundance of weeds in the city.

Paul Nedved, Carlisle city councillor for Stanwix and Houghton, is disappointed.

He said: “Weed control and spraying is a function of the County Council and while recognising there may have been constraints with Covid-19 I do not ever remember the weeds in the City as bad .

“ I have enquired from the County Council about their programme and in their response they maintain it has been perfect conditions for weeds to grow however they accept they are rife across the whole of the City .

“Seeing the weeds throughout Stanwix I’m not at all convinced the programme is being adhered to. I appreciate that the weed killer used poses a lower risk to children, pets and other animals.

“In Stanwix and Houghton we take great pride in our environment.

“In 2018 and 2019 we won Cumbria in Bloom for best urban community and in both years reached the national finals of Britain in Bloom which was an extraordinary achievement with recognition of our high standards in environmental responsibility, community involvement and horticultural achievements

“I’m deeply disappointed in the sheer level of weeds in Stanwix and throughout the City which taking into account all the great projects planned, the poor control of weeds is really letting us down.”

A Cumbria County Council spokesman, said: “The weeds in Carlisle are sprayed three times a year however, the treatment we use requires the weeds to grow first before spraying. The treatment is then absorbed by the weeds before they die off – which takes about two weeks to happen.

“We use this type of treatment because it’s less harmful to wild animals and pets.

“The weather over the last few weeks has provided ideal growing conditions for weeds and the whole of Carlisle has seen a lot of weed growth. The second round of spraying has already begun though, with the third spray scheduled to take place later this year.”