DEFRA moots national knotweed database

The government’s pledges to act to tackle Japanese knotweed were published last Friday as part of its response to the Science and Technology Committee's report into Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica), a non-native invasive species.

Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, it is an offence to plant or allow knotweed to escape or cause it to grow in the wild. Last year, several landmark cases were brought against landowners in the courts, who failed to prevent knotweed escaping onto neighbouring properties, including a £31,000 fine for Network Rail and an £18,000 fine for a Bristol firm under anti social behaviour legislation.

Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (c.69)

Document Status: In force/Current

Scope: England, Scotland, Wales

Key Dates SHOW

Commentary:

06/02/2013 The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (Variation of Schedules A1 and 1A) (Scotland) Order 2013 (SI 2013/31) published, adding species to Schedules 1A and A1., 23/04/2015 Amending Regulations (SI 2015/1180) published.
07/07/2015 Amending Act (Planning (Wales) Act 2015) published.
09/02/2016 Amending Regulations (SI 2016/127) published.
01/05/2018 Amending Act ( Forestry and Land Management (Scotland) Act 2018) published., 19/03/2019 Amending Regulations ( SI 2019/579) published.

Legal Status SHOW

Legal Status This Act provides for, among other things, the protection of certain wild birds, mammals, and plants; and prohibits certain methods of killing or taking of wild birds and animals. It also restricts the introduction of certain animals and plants, provides for the power to grant licenses for certain purposes, and contains provisions relating to nature conservation, the countryside and National Parks, as well as with regard to public rights of way. This Act was made on 30 October 1981, and has been extensively amended (see Legal Outline).

Legal Outline

Amendments to this Act include those made by:

• the Local Government Act 1985;
• the Water Act 1989; and
• the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Further amendments to this Act have been made by:

• the Countryside and Rights of Way (CRoW) Act 2000, in respect of England and Wales; and
• the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 and the Wildlife and Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2011, in respect of Scotland.

Recent amendments were made by:

• the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c) (Amendment) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/1843);
• the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (Variation of Schedule 5) (England) Order 2008 (SI 2008/431);
• the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (Variation of Schedule 5) (Wales) Order 2008 (SI 2008/1927);
• the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (Variation of Schedule 4) (England) Order 2008 (SI 2008/2356);
• the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (Variation of Schedule 4) (Wales) Order 2009 (SI 2009/780);
• the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (Variation of Schedule 4) (Scotland) Order 2009 (SSI 2009/418);
• the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (Variation of Schedules A1 and 1A) (Scotland) Order 2013 (SSI 2013/31);
• the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (Variation of Schedule 9) (Wales) Order 2015 (WSI 2015/1180);
• the Planning (Wales) Act 2015, which, among other things, establishes a new National Development Framework for Wales;
• the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2016 (SI 2016/127), in relation to the removal of the offence of possession or control of an egg of a wild bird under Section 1(2)(b);
• the Forestry and Land Management (Scotland) Act 2018, to remove the Forestry Commissioners as relevant body in relation to the regulation of non-native species; and
• the Conservation of Habitats and Species (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (SI 2019/579) to make technical amendments in consequence of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.

For a complete overview:

View ENDS Summary

To help deal with the ongoing threat of knotweed, the Environment Agency will convene a meeting with the major national Japanese knotweed remediation firms to explore how a national dataset could be assembled and how companies could contribute to this on an ongoing basis. The Property Care Association (PCA) and the Invasive Non-Native Specialists Association (INNSA) will meet with the EA to begin this process in early autumn 2019, the government said. 

• READ MORE: How a council is aiming to spur housebuilding by tackling knotweed

DEFRA said it will also commission a study on international approaches to Japanese knotweed in the context of property sales and report by the end of the year. 

Consultants Environet estimates that approximately 850,000 to 900,000 UK households are currently affected by knotweed, suffering an average reduction in property value of around 10%. This equates to almost £20 billion reduction in property values, according to the consultancy.

But according to the committee’s own report published earlier this year, the current industry approach to knotweed is ‘overly cautious’. The committee concluded that more academic research is needed into the plant’s effects on the built environment.