Preventing the spread of Japanese Knotweed is a legal obligation for landowners under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
The plant (Fallopia Japonica) is an alien species introduced to England around 1825 as an ornamental plant and cattle fodder. It is difficult and expensive to manage, but non-intervention is not really an option.
arly treatment of a new colony is quicker, cheaper and preferable to leaving it to become established and it can lie dormant underground for 20 years before re-growing.
RICS registered valuers (including Woodward Chartered Surveyors) have been consulted following some mortgage lenders declining loans on affected properties. The consultation should lead to a new Information Paper this year.
If Japanese Knotweed is growing on your land it is important that you devise a strategy to treat and control it before it damages paving, tarmac, water courses and kills off native plants. If left it forms tall thickets with a dense leaf canopy that excludes other plants, although flowers from August to October are a valuable nectar source for beneficial insects and honey bees. In the Autumn, fallen leaves decompose slowly and form a mulch that prevents other plants germinating.
If you spot this notorious plant species, whatever you do, do not dig it up (as I saw someone on The Hill do). The plant and soil is classed as “controlled waste” and must be handled with care.
Further details are available from:
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/wildlife/130079.aspx
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