We were contacted by the owner of the property in the summer of 2020 following his identification of Japanese Knotweed on a site where he was building two new dwellings. By way of context, the site previously had a single story dwelling present that was demolished to make way for two brand new, high-end luxury properties.
Inspectas first attended the site as development works were underway. We carried out a full survey in which the location of the knotweed and discussed with our client the various remediation options available.
Understandably our client was keen to manage costs and subsequently decided that herbicidal removal of the knotweed was the preferred strategy to take.
So we set about implementing a herbicidal management plan to deal with the Japanese Knotweed – and in line with PCA best practice – we set to work.
All areas of the infestation were fenced off to prevent further spread and disturbance, and herbicides were applied to begin the process of killing all Japanese Knotweed growth and the associated rhizomes.
Fast forward 6 months and the client decides the area containing Japanese Knotweed needs to be landscaped to make the property more saleable on the open market. We sit down and discuss the excavation of the knotweed and put forward a solution to ensure all Japanese Knotweed propagules and rhizomes are removed from the area and taken to a registered landfill site.
By the time we came to excavate the Japanese Knotweed the two new dwellings were almost at completion – so timings were tight and we had to ensure we could safely excavate the knotweed and at the same time be confident all rhizomes were comprehensively removed from that location. Fortunately our technical team have many years’ experience in dealing with sites like this, so we were able to excavate all Japanese Knotweed from the site, leaving the area to be soft-landscaped by the client as required.
Post excavation we have issued a 10-year Insurance Backed Guarantee for the site, and in line with the PCA’s published Code of Practice for the Management of Japanese Knotweed (which can be found by visiting the PCA’s website here), we will conduct two years of monitoring to ensure the site remains free of Japanese Knotweed.
Another job done. Another development progressed. Another happy client.
