Cherwell District councillors approve peat-free gardening initiative

Cherwell District councillors recently agreed to investigate sustainable alternatives in relation to the design and planting of their bedding schemes which will include perennial plants that are cost-effective, insect-friendly, and attractive to pollinators.

The motion submitted by Cllr Hannah Banfield, said the council agrees that any supplier of their bedding plants at this time and in the future will from this juncture use no more than 50 per cent peat compost within the cultivation of their plants. The suppliers of their bedding plants now and in the future must make the commitment to be peat-free as soon as practicable and most definitely by 2030.

In making this commitment the council will conserve the diminishing natural resource, and help to safeguard the peatlands.

Cllr Banfield said her inspiration for the motion came from one of her constituents, Linda Newbery, who contacted her asking if she could help raise awareness of the fact that using peat-compost within the cultivation of plants has a very negative impact on our environment.

Linda, who is a member of Extinction Rebellion Banbury, said: "I'm grateful to Cllr Banfield for bringing this motion and to the council for passing it.

"But I hope the council will make all its gardening completely peat-free long before 2030. The damage caused by peat extraction - in terms of both habitat loss and carbon emissions - is widely acknowledged. There's simply no justification for any of us, councils or individuals, to use peat for gardening when good alternatives are widely available."