Two new measures have been introduced to cut carbon emissions and boost diversity in Wychavon's parks and open spaces.

All maintenance vehicles being used to maintain the parks are using Hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), and Wychavon District Council is also trialling stopping using herbicides and pesticides, including weedkillers.

HVO, which can reduce carbon emissions by 90 per cent compared to diesel, is already being used in the district's waste collection and street cleaning vehicles.

Read more: RSPCA asks Brits to adopt pets as centres hit breaking point

The council has also teamed up with Continental Landscapes to trial stopping the use of herbicides and pesticides in parks and open spaces.

This move is in response to research showing that certain weedkillers may negatively impact biodiversity.

Forgoing these weedkillers in favour of manually controlling weeds is expected to offer an improvement to the health of surrounding soil and promote a diverse insect population.

The green measures are part of Wychavon's Intelligently Green Plan.

This initiative has a goal of decreasing the council's carbon emissions by 75 per cent by 2030, as well as supporting biodiversity by improving existing habitats and creating new ones.

The use of herbicides and pesticides to control weeds on hard surfaces in urban areas, such as residential roads and town centres, will continue.

Residents are expected to begin noticing a reduction in weeds following the first treatment.

Tim Lewis, head of client services for the council, said: "We’re proud of our award-winning parks and open spaces, but maintaining them shouldn’t come at the cost of our environment.

These new measures will support the actions we have already taken in our parks, including planting wildflower areas to help our pollinators."

He added: “I’m grateful to Continental Landscapes staff who will be working hard to maintain our parks and green open spaces to their usual high standards.

"If you do see a few more weeds around for a short period, don’t worry. Staff will get to them, and in the meantime, they are providing a great source of habitat and food for our wildlife.”