A woman claims the garden of a home she owns is being ruined for its tenants thanks to a Japanese knotweed issue spreading from a property next door. Glenys Parsons owns a home at Pleasant View Terrace in Northill, Swansea, which she lets to her son's girlfriend and her daughter. The 68-year-old explained that some years ago her property was sprayed due to the spread of knotweed from a home next door owned by property developer Coastal Housing.
But Mrs Parsons claims the treatment stopped and the problem ended up getting even worse. She explained how she had been trying to get the issue rectified since May 2022 without success, claiming she was given an explanation by the housing developer that "knotweed doesn't spread and that the birds must have dropped it".
The homeowner said she simply wants the problem to be contained for the tenants to be able to enjoy the garden and was not looking for any financial recompense. Coastal Housing has acknowledged the issues at the property and said that knotweed located at the property will be treated. To receive newsletters sent from WalesOnline sent directly to your inbox click here.
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She said: "Many years ago my property was sprayed due to the spread of knotweed from the Coastal Housing property next door. The spraying ceased and the problem got even worse. I have been trying to get the issue sorted since May 2022 but they are saying knotweed doesn't spread and the birds must have dropped it.
"The back of their property is totally overgrown and has broken my fence which they agreed needed repairing but are not addressing the issue at all. My property was left empty for almost a year because of this problem. I now have a tenant with a three-year-old who cannot go out in their back garden as we have had to keep cutting the knotweed back to try to contain it from spreading to my next-door neighbour the other side. It is rapidly moving in that direction. I am not seeking any financial compensation for loss of earnings and so on. I would just be happy if the knotweed was treated as it used to be and contained from going any further."
What is Japanese knotweed?
Japanese knotweed is the most common of four invasive knotweed plant species in the UK. These are Japanese knotweed, Dwarf knotweed, Giant knotweed, and Bohemian (hybrid) knotweed.
Knotweed can grow in most soil conditions found in the UK and particularly in manmade habitats such as roadsides, waste ground, railway embankments and cuttings, and spoil tips that are made up of waste material from mining or quarrying. It’s also commonly found along rivers and streams.
Knotweed spreads through direct rhizome (root) growth and new plant growth from the parent plant’s stem and rhizome fragments. A new plant can grow from pieces of rhizome as small as 1cm.
The UK Government's website says: "You must stop Japanese knotweed on your land from spreading off your property. Soil or plant material contaminated with non-native and invasive plants like Japanese knotweed can cause ecological damage and may be classified as controlled waste. You do not legally have to remove Japanese knotweed from your land unless it’s causing a nuisance but you can be prosecuted for causing it to spread into the wild."
Coastal Housing head of maintenance Andrew Thomas said: “We are aware of these concerns and members of our maintenance and estates team visited the Coastal property and assessed the garden. There is a small patch of knotweed located in the garden of the Coastal property which will be treated. It is also noted on our knotweed register for regular monitoring and treatment. Any damage to the fence will also be repaired.
“Where knotweed is affecting gardens in the vicinity which are not our property we are unable to treat those areas. Swansea Council do however offer a service for people to help control the spread of Japanese knotweed.”
