Another Knotty Problem for Hastings
Paul McLaughlin
Hastings has become one of the worst affected areas in East Sussex for Japanese knotweed according to new data published by Environet, one of the most established Japanese knotweed removal companies in the UK. The company has charted over 50,000 infestations across the country, with several new sightings of the plant in recent weeks across the town.
There have been over 50 new sightings in Hastings this year. The most recent is a vast patch just on the edge of Speckled Wood and up Barley Lane near Shearbarn Holiday Park.
Japanese knotweed is the most common of four invasive knotweed plant species in the UK and can cause ecological damage. Once the plant is established it grows vigorously and can damage buildings and hard surfaces as well as causing problems for native wildlife.
The knotweed usually appears in early spring and grows rapidly once established to well over two metres in height by the summer. Its’ flowers are small, five-pointed rounded stars usually white or cream in colour and they form part of a cluster which grow at the end of the stem. This cluster is long and thin and looks a little like a spike. The plant itself is identifiable by its tough, bamboo-like canes and distinctive shield-shaped bright green leaves which grow in patterns along the stem.
Knotweed spreads through root growth and once established is very difficult to remove. It will usually require a professional team to spray and inject the stems with an approved herbicide. Complete eradication can take up to five years.
There is a legal requirement on property owners to remove the knotweed if it is causing a nuisance, and landowners can be prosecuted for causing it to spread into the wild.
Hastings BC has a spraying schedule in place for areas to be sprayed three times a year for the treatment of Knotweed only on its own land. There is a telephone hotline to report new sightings by calling (01424 451066).
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