Biodiversity

Biodiversity

In 2024, Newton Abbot Town Council Declared a Biodiversity Emergency. Following this, a Biodiversity Policy was released allowing the council to work towards enhancing and protecting the biodiversity of Newton Abbot.

Our Biodiversity Policy is available HERE

Key Policy Actions:

Grass Verges

Newton Abbot Town Council is delivering awildlife-friendly grass verge project across seven sites in the town, running until early 2028. The project aims to increase biodiversity while continuing to prioritise road safety, accessibility, and a tidy, well-managed appearance.

The approach has been shaped by expert ecological advice alongside extensive community feedback gathered through surveys in 2025 and 2026. At three of the seven verges, two wildlife-friendly areas will be created. One area will be sown with native wildflower seed, while the other will be left to regenerate naturally. This will allow the Council to compare different management approaches and understand what works best in local conditions.

Further detail on the project design, selected sites, expert input, and community survey results is available in the 2026 Grass Verges Community Survey Report and Project Update, which can be accessed via the link below.

If you have any concerns about a verge, please email Thomas.collard@newtonabbot-tc.gov.uk

Pesticide Free

In 2024, Newton Abbot Town Council declared itself ‘Pesticide Free’. This means that no pesticides are used in our management of the town or on our assets. To support this work, we have invested in equipment such as our Citymaster named ‘Sweeping beauty’ and a Foamstream machine.  

We work closely with Green Futures, a community group that aims to promote going ‘pesticide free’ to Newton Abbot Residents. Their 2025 ‘Pesticide Free Devon’ conference was a great success, and we supported the event by hosting a workshop on going pesticide free in local government. We are a partner in their pesticide collection scheme and have supported it for several years.