Green Streets

Action

We continue to ask the council to actively support the Green Street movement
We want evidence that the council have significantly reduced pesticide use on our streets and
How will they continue to reduce its use
We continue to support residents creating Green Streets

Croydon's first pilot pesticide-free Green Street has not only been providing food for pollinators all summer and looking great too

Since spring 2025 Croydon Climate Action have been running the Croydon Green Streets campaign to support biodiversity, soil/air quality and health in Croydon. The aim is to achieve green, herbicide-free streets with flowering plants in the tree pits (around the base of trees) and more flowers and other plants in spare green patches, on verges, along front walls and in front gardens, all organised by residents working together in their streets.

Green Streets followed on from the successful Croydon Climate Action Pesticide Free Croydon campaign. This resulted in an over 50% reduction in use of glyphosate on our residential streets.

We reviewed models in neighbouring boroughs of Wandsworth (Southfields GreentheGrid) and Merton (Sustainable Merton Garden Streets), and decided to pilot some streets in Croydon, whilst at the same time starting conversations with the Council.

We have three aims:

Protect human, animal and insect health affected by spraying Glyphosate. This key, herbicide ingredient, is really toxic, so everything in the soil dies when it’s sprayed: any pet or bird touching the spray will take it into their systems, and glyphosate can wash off into the waterways through the drains. Insects are either killed or are no longer able to pollinate. Humans and animals are at risk from gut or nervous system diseases and cancers.
Increase the range of flowers in our streets, promoting biodiversity by attracting diverse pollinators.
Involve residents in working together and building local communities, improving everyone’s health and wellbeing, sharing the sheer pleasure of living in thriving green streets, not bleak streets where spraying takes its toll.

In addition Green Streets save money by reducing the Council's contractor bill for pesticides spraying and spending on the glyphosate itself, money better spent on improvements to everyone's natural environment.

Green Streets work by local people taking the initiative and getting together and by asking Croydon Council to take their streets off the pesticide spray list. Requests to remove your street from the spray list are handled by Croydon Council, Environment Services & Sustainable Neighbourhoods team.

We currently have Green Streets projects in Addiscombe, Central Croydon and South Croydon and there are other streets across Croydon where residents are taking the initiative and planting verges and tree pits.

We’d love others to join us whether it’s just a few households, a whole road, cul-de-sac or patch of spare land, there are many ways to get involved. We are also looking at obtaining common signage that would alert contractors not to spray areas off the spray list that residents are taking care of.

Join the Green Streets campaign, get support and let us know how you are getting on at croydonclimateaction@gmail.com .

Andrea, who led the Laurier Road project says: “It’s important to remember that everyone is a potential ally” and “It only takes a few committed people to make a huge difference. Our Green Street this year has been literally humming with insect life”