It’s a knotty problem

As the national and parliamentary debate about Brexit continues, I often take wry amusement from the contributions of some arch-Brexiteers about the way in which we need to return to “our British way of life”.

I heard one such contributor on the radio recently speak with proud anticipation of his ‘traditional British Christmas dinner’, apparently with little understanding of the origin of the varieties of food which appear on that plate.

Of course, turkeys were originally imported from China, potatoes were brought by the Spanish from South America, sprouts were first grown in Ancient Rome and then in Germany and Belgium long before they reached the UK, sage and onion came from Mediterranean countries, carrots variously from what is now called Afghanistan and Turkey, and the raisins and sultanas for our Christmas puddings were from the grapes cultivated in Greece, Turkey and what we used to call Asia Minor, sweetened by sugar from cane grown in the Caribbean and flavoured with spices from the East Indies. So far as I am concerned, our diet and food has been vastly improved by these imports.

Similarly, there are thousands of plants which enhance British gardens and parks which had their origins thousands of miles away. The wonderful British institution, Kew Garden, is now the repository of tens of thousands of seeds from plants and trees from throughout the world.

However, there are a few plant imports which we could do without. In particular, there are three non-native species which have caused serious damage to our environment, the economy and occasionally to our health.

Giant Hogweed and Himalayan Balsam caused havoc with the environment, especially around rivers and streams. They crowded out other plants, changed the habitat and nature of water-courses, and deleteriously impacted on local ecologies, especially the diversity of small mammals, fish and insects.

But it is Japanese Knotweed which has most often been the focus of attention in urban areas, as it thrives in places where the native flora is already impoverished. The rhizomes (roots) have an ability to travel a long way underground before the two metre stems and large triangular leaves surface.

So big a problem did it become that its control was specifically addressed in the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act. Under Sec 14 of that Act, it is an offence to plant or cause Japanese Knotweed to grow in the wild. A magistrates’ court can impose a maximum fine of £5000 or a maximum prison sentence of six months, or both. A Crown Court can impose an unlimited fine or a maximum prison sentence of two years, or both.

Although not a statutory nuisance, allowing Japanese Knotweed to spread onto neighbouring land could be considered to be a private nuisance. This means that if you had Japanese Knotweed on your land and you allowed it to spread to neighbouring land, the owners of that land could take civil action against you.  That is why you will find that if you are selling land or trying to insure your home, you will be asked to make a declaration about Knotweed.

Under the 1990 Environmental Protection Act, Japanese Knotweed is ‘controlled waste’ and must be safely disposed of at an appropriately licensed landfill site. Contaminated soils must be buried to a depth of at least 5 metres. All waste producers to ensure that a written description of the waste and any specific harmful properties is provided to the site operator.  Other regulations also apply.

So, there are strict legal requirements applying if you have Japanese Knotweed on your land, and it can be very costly both to ignore it and to deal with it.

However, some people have questioned whether the physical and environmental damage caused by Japanese Knotweed is as great as previously claimed and whether its existence is over-regulated.

That is why the all-party Science and Technology Committee has decided to hold a short inquiry, specifically to explore the science behind the effects of Japanese Knotweed on the built environment.

The Committee has invited expert submissions on the following issues by Monday 31 December:

• What scientific evidence exists on the effects of Japanese Knotweed on the built environment;
• How the presence of Japanese Knotweed in the UK affects mortgage lending decisions and property valuations;
• Whether mortgage lending decisions relating to the presence of Japanese Knotweed are currently based on sound scientific evidence of its effects on the built environment; and
• What guidance for the sector currently exists, the impact of existing legislation, and how else evidence-based responses to the presence of Japanese Knotweed can be encouraged.

You can submit written evidence at

https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/science-and-technology-committee/inquiries/parliament-2017/japanese-knotweed-17-19/

But the Committee is also interested to hear from people about their experiences of dealing with Japanese Knotweed, whether as a homeowner, tenant, prospective purchaser or developer. You can tell the Committee about your personal experiences by completing a dedicated webform at

https://ukparliament-self.achieveservice.com/en/AchieveForms/?form_uri=sandbox-publish://AF-Process-8ddf844a-29d3-4bcf-b3ff-a4ac51670fcc/AF-Stage-81021ccb-f980-42e6-b516-5a11d06689e8/definition.json&redirectlink=%2Fen&cancelRedirectLink=%2Fen&consentMessage=yes

It’s certainly a knotty problem. You can help decide how it is dealt with in the future.

Take a deep breath – no yet!

Most people under the age of 50 will have no memory of the choking smogs from which Sheffield – and most other cities – suffered in to the 1960s.
Concerns about Sheffield’s air quality go back over 400 years. It was a combination of industrial pollution, from the city’s heavy industrial production, and domestic pollution from open coal fires, which heated most homes. It was well described in George Orwell’s 1936 visit to the city: "Sheffield, I suppose, could justly claim to be called the ugliest town in the Old World..."
Dramatic improvements were made between 1959 and 1972 when smokeless zones were established across the city, when residents could get grants to replace their coal fires with gas. Mrs Thatcher’s industrial strategy made its own impact in the 1980s as Sheffield’s steel, engineering and coal mining was devastated. It has effectively taken another 40 years to get to the position where parts of the Lower Don Valley can be redeveloped, including for housing.
However, concerns about air quality in parts of Sheffield – especially the city centre and near to the MI – continue. This is mainly due to nearly invisible pollutants from domestic and commercial vehicles, especially particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5); of most concern are nitrogen dioxide and fine dust particulates.
Poor air quality contributes to the early deaths of up to 40,000 people each year. Diseases attributable to air pollution in the UK result in over £20 billion in economic costs each year.
 In 2014, nine English towns and cities, including Sheffield, were named by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for breaching safety guidelines for air pollution. The latest WHO report states that at least 37 UK towns and cities are in breach of the WHO air quality standards for PM2.5, whilst a minimum of 10 UK town and cities breach their standards for PM10s. This is significantly higher than the five cities required to deliver Clean Air zones by the end of 2019.
Locally, there are automatic air monitoring stations measuring a variety of pollutants in areas of most concern and 160 locations across the city where just nitrogen dioxide levels are monitored.
Today’s challenge is to make as big a breakthrough on traffic pollution as the city’s leaders made on smog 50 years ago. If all buses and taxis in the city were low emission – and a good start has been made with the introduction of new buses - that would cut nitrogen dioxide (NO2) gas by about 20 per cent, two-thirds of the way towards the required 30 per cent reduction.
Many MPs and the Local Government Association, as well as health campaigners, have been pressing the government to act. But the Coalition and Conservative government ministers have been unwilling to get to grips with the challenges. The government has had to be dragged through the courts every step of the way.
In February this year, the government was defeated in court for the third time in three years.  What's more, the judge was highly critical, saying that this was the third unsuccessful attempt by the government to produce a plan to bring down air pollution to legal levels as quickly as possible. He said ‘The history of this litigation shows that good faith, hard work and sincere promises are not enough... and it seems the court must keep the pressure on to ensure compliance is actually achieved.’ Effectively, in a decision which the judge described as ‘wholly exceptional’, the court said it was going to oversee the government’s plans.
The government’s air quality strategy, unveiled in May, was hugely disappointing. Again, it simply fails to rise to the challenge.
For many years, I have been specifically pressing the government about the need to take action in respect of pollution from the M1, over which the city council has no power but whose concerns led to one school having to be relocated to protect children’s health. Ministerial response has been to duck and dive.
However, at the very least now, ministers seem to understand that they will have to act in a number of ways to cut the M1 pollution.
Last week, my colleague, Paul Blomfield (MP, Sheffield Central) and I again pressed the case with the Minister in the House of Commons. The response? After encouraging Sheffield City Council to ‘considering introducing a charging clean air zone (in the city centre)’ – which will undoubtedly be controversial, on the M1 issue, the Minister said:

“My Department (DEFRA) and the Department for Transport have a joint air quality unit, and I am in regular contact with Highways England about its progress on improving air quality on the strategic road network. I welcome the work that it is considering to change speed limits and to install the barriers to which the hon. Gentleman referred.”

So, don’t take a deep breath … yet.