Technical “
Recent statements by mortgage lenders have fuelled this panic by stating that they … “will not provide a mortgage on a property with Japanese Knotweed within 30 metres of a boundary”
”
From its introduction to its rapid accidental spread, Japanese Knotweed has gone from being a prized ornamental plant to an object of complete paranoia
Whilst this may sound a little confusing, if you actually think it through then it does make sense - knotweed within a boundary can be managed and treated, knotweed outside of the boundary is ‘outside’ of your control. The careful landowner should have
answers for the surveyor who spots knotweed on the property. Employing a trained specialist will alleviate most problems, but well documented photographs and details of precautions taken should be kept, as well as marked and fenced areas where treatment has been undertaken. I qualified as a Landscape Architect in the
early eighties, at a time when ‘wildlife’ gardens were all the rage. Everyone was reducing the time spend on eradicating ‘weeds’ and deciding to abandon mowing regimes on their grassed areas in favour of wildflower meadows. Swathes of uncut grass abounded, with reduced areas of short mown high maintenance sward. Japanese Knotweed was often planted as a
screen or a green alternative for embankment stabilisation and Buddleja was actively encouraged to grow and planted by the hundreds to encourage butterflies. These two species are now the bane of the rail track maintenance companies and a
nightmare on poorly managed sites. This new found interest in ‘natural’
landscapes was seized upon by landowners as a perfect excuse to reduce their weed control budgets and save money on grass cutting costs ... with serious consequences. What most natural landscape lovers didn’t
realise was that, if you stop maintaining your landscaped areas, it isn’t the wildflowers that thrive, it is those plants designed to out compete our native species that will take over.
Many areas away from the watchful eye of the maintenance teams were abandoned to what were deemed wild or natural - the reality was more ‘unnatural’, with a massive boom in the spread of invasive species. Huge swathes of Japanese Knotweed and Himalayan balsam have spread and established to such an extent that many believe that these plants are actually native. My personal theory is that it is down to landowners simply not looking at what has been happening. Most people are inexperienced in identifying plants and take a very simplistic view - if it’s green or has flowers - then it’s ‘natural’. Japanese Knotweed and Himalayan Balsam are not unattractive plants during their growing period between April and October. Both have
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