The site which was being sold in Matlock had Japanese knotweed growing where they wanted to build a new house. The plan, therefore, was to carry out the removal of Japanese knotweed in Matlock from this particular site.

Following the survey, it was found that the Japanese knotweed was actually in two places on the site as a previous owner had cross-contaminated the area by driving a digger through the old stand. Meaning then some of the rhizomes had been deposited on the North East corner creating a new stand. They didn’t even realise they had done it at the time with them having no appropriate bio-hazard procedures in place and certainly not following any best practices.

The recommendation of the management plan was to ensure the removal of Japanese Knotweed in Matlock was carried out on site. For this particular site, it was recommended that the excavation of Japanese Knotweed be carried out. Although this was more expensive than simply treating it with herbicide it was the most cost-effective method of removing the Japanese knotweed. The work took one week to complete and then a completion notice was issued, this meant they could then start a new build immediately with no delays.