In a landmark court
case, a property owner who allowed Japanese knotweed to spread across her
property to the extent that it put the value of an adjoining property at risk,
was ordered by the County Court in Truro to employ Cornwall Council’s
contractor Cormac Solutions Limited to implement a programme of remediation
that may take 5 years.
The property owner was
also required to pay substantial but undisclosed court costs.
The case, which bears
resemblance to a similar case against Network Rail in Wales, may set a
precedent for those people who have knotweed on their land and allow it to
spread to the extent that it puts adjoining property values at risk.
Cormac Solutions, who
have been appointed to eradicate the infestation, are subscribers to the
Invasives Code which sets high quality standards for invasive species
remediators and are also a member of the Invasive Non-Native Specialists
Association (INNSA) the only industry specific trade body that represents
companies that adhere to the highest technical industry standards.
Tim Bird from Cormac
Solutions Limited said ‘we are very pleased to have been appointed to eradicate
the knotweed infestation in Maenporth as a result of the Court decision. It is
important when appointing a contractor to remediate an infestation that you can
have peace of mind as to the quality of work and that the contractor will be
around for the long term. As a subscriber to the Invasives Code and a member of
INNSA, which requires very high technical standards of its members as laid out
in the INNSA Code of Practice for Managing Japanese knotweed, our customers can
have that peace of mind.’
James Sherwood-Rogers,
the Chairman of INNSA said: "We believe that the Court decision sends a
clear message that it is important to select a remediator that subscribers to
the Invasives Code and follows the INNSA Code of Practice for Managing Japanese
knotweed.
"As remediation
programmes can take 5 years or more, it is vital that property owners can
depend on the contractor that they choose to work for them."
