This Council believes:

That the City of Trees i-Tree survey of 2018 declared that Greater Manchester’s 11.3 million trees provide an annual environmental and economic benefit of £33 million which benefits Trafford. Trafford’s streets currently number 18,000 trees but a net increase of 20% - approx. 3,600 – will increase biodiversity, bring environmental benefits and wellbeing to residents.

This Council notes:

?     Trees are still the cheapest way to absorb and sequester carbon from the atmosphere which contributes to limiting the harmful effects of climate change.

?    Trees remove pollutants from the air which improves air quality. There’s up to a 60% reduction in street level particulates they reduce ozone, nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxides, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.

?     Trees create ecosystems that provide increased biodiversity for many animals.

?    Trees help control intense rain run-off and help to improve water quality and reduce flooding.

?    Trees have many benefits for residents: they provide a proven sense of wellbeing.

Trafford Council resolves to:

?       Undertake a year-long audit to identify suitable locations in urban areas to increase tree coverage and undertake resident consultation and report to Executive by July 2020.

?       Set ambitious targets to increase our urban street trees and TMBC to consider the Government’s Urban Tree Challenge Fund to assist this [1].

?       Ensure that tree coverage is consistent across the borough and consider nearby green spaces where a lack of suitable streets exist.

?       Seek out partnerships with the Woodland Trust, City of Trees and the Forestry Commission to fully move to UK-sourced trees that are disease-free and fully traceable.

?       Increase native varieties of small, medium and large sized trees and match these to local conditions.

?       Further promote the Adopt-a-Tree scheme to residents, community groups and schools.

?       Become a member of the Champion Trees Register [2] to celebrate our outstanding trees.

1.   https://www.gov.uk/guidance/urban-tree-challenge-fund 

2.   https://www.treeregister.org/aboutus.shtml 

It was moved and seconded that:

“This Council believes:

That the City of Trees i-Tree survey of 2018 declared that Greater Manchester’s 11.3 million trees provide an annual environmental and economic benefit of £33 million which benefits Trafford. Trafford’s streets currently number 18,000 trees but a net increase of 20% - approx. 3,600 - will increase biodiversity, bring environmental benefits and wellbeing to residents.

This Council notes:

?     Trees are still the cheapest way to absorb and sequester carbon from the atmosphere which contributes to limiting the harmful effects of climate change.

?    Trees remove pollutants from the air which improves air quality. There’s up to a 60% reduction in street level particulates they reduce ozone, nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxides, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.

?     Trees create ecosystems that provide increased biodiversity for many animals.

?    Trees help control intense rain run-off and help to improve water quality and reduce flooding.

?    Trees have many benefits for residents: they provide a proven sense of wellbeing.

Trafford Council resolves to:

?     Undertake a year-long audit to identify suitable locations in urban areas to increase tree coverage and undertake resident consultation and report to Executive by July 2020.

?     Set ambitious targets to increase our urban street trees and TMBC to consider the Government’s Urban Tree Challenge Fund to assist this [1].

?       Ensure that tree coverage is consistent across the borough and consider nearby green spaces where a lack of suitable streets exist.

?       Seek out partnerships with the Woodland Trust, City of Trees and the Forestry Commission to fully move to UK-sourced trees that are disease-free and fully traceable.

?       Increase native varieties of small, medium and large sized trees and match these to local conditions.

?       Further promote the Adopt-a-Tree scheme to residents, community groups and schools.

?       Become a member of the Champion Trees Register [2] to celebrate our outstanding trees.”

It was moved and seconded as an amendment that:

“The Motion be accepted, subject to the deletion of:

-          Seek out partnerships with the Woodland Trust, City of Trees and the Forestry Commission to fully move to UK-sourced trees that are disease-free and fully traceable.”

Following a debate on the matter, the amendment was put to the vote and declared carried. The Substantive Motion was then put to the vote and declared carried.

RESOLVED: That this Council believes:

That the City of Trees i-Tree survey of 2018 declared that Greater Manchester’s 11.3 million trees provide an annual environmental and economic benefit of £33 million which benefits Trafford. Trafford’s streets currently number 18,000 trees but a net increase of 20% - approx. 3,600 - will increase biodiversity, bring environmental benefits and wellbeing to residents.

This Council notes:

?     Trees are still the cheapest way to absorb and sequester carbon from the atmosphere which contributes to limiting the harmful effects of climate change.

?    Trees remove pollutants from the air which improves air quality. There’s up to a 60% reduction in street level particulates they reduce ozone, nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxides, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.

?     Trees create ecosystems  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32

This Council notes:

There has been a 60% increase in the use of pesticides such as glyphosate in the UK since 1990 [1]. Italy, Portugal and the Canadian city of Vancouver have all banned use of glyphosate [or glyphosate based weed killers] and France is working towards this. Mosanto and German owner Bayer face 9,000 lawsuits in the US from those that believe their illnesses are caused by their products, the first plaintiff won unanimously with many more to follow [2]. That recent studies published in ScienceDirect show a 41% increased risk of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma caused by exposure from glyphosate-based weed killers and products [3].

This Council believes:

·     There is compelling evidence these glyphosate and a wide range of other herbicides and pesticides may be harmful to human health

·     The use of pesticides and weed killers reduces biodiversity, impacting negatively on insects, birds and bees, in a time when the world is losing 2.5% of its insect population per-year [4].

·     Harmful weed killer residues can creep into the food chain.

·     Pets and children should not be playing in parks treated with such chemicals.

This Council resolves to:

·     Phase out the use of all pesticides and weed killers on council land.

·     Cut out all use of glyphosate based treatments in all council operations in one year.

·     Trial pesticide-free alternatives during this period. Particularly those adopted by the likes of Hammersmith and Fulham and Lewes Councils who use biodegradable foam or hot steam treatments on weeds. To be decided by Executive.

·     Grant an exception to the above ban regarding the control of Japanese knotweed, or other invasive species, where there are currently no effective mechanical techniques available. However, in this case chemicals such as glyphosate will only be stem-injected, rather than sprayed, to reduce its spread in the environment.

·     Grant an exception on sprays only in relation to Giant Hogweed where it’s not safe to be dug out or safely removed by other means.

·     Write to the prime minister to inform the government of this Council’s opposition to glyphosate-based pesticides and to call for a UK-wide programme to phase out use

1. http://www.pan-uk.org/pesticides-agriculture-uk/

2. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/oct/07/monsanto-trial-cancer-appeal-glyphosate-chemical

3. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1383574218300887

4. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/feb/10/plummeting-insect-numbers-threaten-

It was moved and seconded that:

“This Council notes:

There has been a 60% increase in the use of pesticides such as glyphosate in the UK since 1990 [1]. Italy, Portugal and the Canadian city of Vancouver have all banned use of glyphosate [or glyphosate based weed killers] and France is working towards this. Mosanto and German owner Bayer face 9,000 lawsuits in the US from those that believe their illnesses are caused by their products, the first plaintiff won unanimously with many more to follow [2]. That recent studies published in ScienceDirect show a 41% increased risk of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma caused by exposure from glyphosate-based weed killers and products [3].

This Council believes:

·          There is compelling evidence these glyphosate and a wide range of other herbicides and pesticides may be harmful to human health

·          The use of pesticides and weed killers reduces biodiversity, impacting negatively on insects, birds and bees, in a time when the world is losing 2.5% of its insect population per-year [4].

·          Harmful weed killer residues can creep into the food chain.

·          Pets and children should not be playing in parks treated with such chemicals.

This Council resolves to:

·          Phase out the use of all pesticides and weed killers on council land.

·          Cut out all use of glyphosate based treatments in all council operations in one year.

·          Trial pesticide-free alternatives during this period. Particularly those adopted by the likes of Hammersmith and Fulham and Lewes Councils who use biodegradable foam or hot steam treatments on weeds. To be decided by Executive.

·          Grant an exception to the above ban regarding the control of Japanese knotweed, or other invasive species, where there are currently no effective mechanical techniques available. However, in this case chemicals such as glyphosate will only be stem-injected, rather than sprayed, to reduce its spread in the environment.

·          Grant an exception on sprays only in relation to Giant Hogweed where it’s not safe to be dug out or safely removed by other means.

·          Write to the prime minister to inform the government of this Council’s opposition to glyphosate-based pesticides and to call for a UK-wide programme to phase out use.”

Following speeches of support, the Motion was agreed with the unanimous consent of the Council.

RESOLVED: That this Council notes:

There has been a 60% increase in the use of pesticides such as glyphosate in the UK since 1990 [1]. Italy, Portugal and the Canadian city of Vancouver have all banned use of glyphosate [or glyphosate based weed killers] and France is working towards this. Mosanto and German owner Bayer face 9,000 lawsuits in the US from those that believe their illnesses are caused by their products, the first plaintiff won unanimously with many more to follow [2]. That recent studies published in ScienceDirect show a 41% increased risk of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma caused by exposure from glyphosate-based weed killers and products [3].

This Council believes:

·          There is compelling evidence these glyphosate and a wide range of other  ...  view the full minutes text for item 79

The City of Trees i-Tree survey of 2018 declared that Greater Manchester’s 11.3 million trees provide an annual environmental and economic benefit of £33 million. This motion will help to ensure that Trafford aims to build on these numbers by providing increased tree cover to urban streets. Trafford’s streets currently number 18,000 trees. This motion will look to a net increase of 20% - approximately 3,600 – but will also ensure that trees are disease-free, bought from traceable UK sources, increase biodiversity and bring environmental and health benefits to residents.

Trafford Council notes:

•     Trees are still the cheapest way to absorb and sequester carbon from the atmosphere which contributes to limiting the harmful effects of climate change.

•        Trees remove pollutants from the air which improves air quality. There is up to a 60% reduction in street level particulates for instance. They also play a role in reducing ozone, nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxides, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.

•        Trees create ecosystems that provide increased biodiversity for birds, bats, insects and provides food for a host of other animals.

•        Trees help control intense rain run-off and many of the pollutants it contains, helping to improve water quality and reduce flooding.

•        Trees have many benefits for residents: they are the most recognised indicator of attractiveness and they provide a proven sense of wellbeing.

Trafford Council will:

•     Increase our urban street trees by 20% net by 2035 and the Council will look for partners to help fund this scheme starting by no later than June 2020.

•     UKSG (Woodland Trust Sourcing and Traceability Scheme) – The Council to work with the Woodlands Trust to move away from foreign suppliers over the next 5 years to exclusively UK-sourced trees that are disease-free and fully traceable.

•     Street Trees in Trafford – tree replacement uses small garden varieties that are mainly non-native. This motion asks the council to introduce 50% native varieties to this mix and to use species that are proven to mitigate noise, road pollution and offer greater biodiversity (to implement where appropriate and with nearby resident consent).

•     Greater promotion of the Adopt-a-Tree scheme – The Council will send a letter to each household that has less than 3 trees on their road, advertising the scheme and encouraging participation (if the road has potential to increase the number of trees on it). It will also promote the scheme to relevant community groups, nurseries and schools. These trees will contribute to the 20% net increase by 2035.

•     Tree Register - Champion Trees – Trafford Council will help to celebrate the trees of Champion by signing up to this free register and pinpointing Trafford's trees of note via its website https://www.treeregister.org/aboutus.shtml it will also promote and display http://www.cityoftrees.org.uk/volunteer - Trafford Council will encourage staff, Councillors and members of the public to volunteer with City of Trees.