New heatmap tracks spread of Japanese knotweed across the UK

Date: April 2019
Author: Guest Blog from Environet UK

A unique new Japanese knotweed tracking tool has been developed by knotweed experts Environet UK, providing an interactive online heatmap of sightings across the UK.

Exposed: The Japanese Knotweed Heatmap will be a valuable resource for property professionals involved in residential transactions, including conveyancing solicitors, developers and surveyors, as well as lawyers involved in Japanese knotweed litigation, enabling them to build a local picture of knotweed infestations.

The map has already been populated with thousands of sightings by Environet, which has operated in the residential and commercial knotweed remediation sector for over twenty years. New sightings are being uploaded daily following blanket press coverage of the launch earlier this spring, including this piece in the Mail Online.

The only live tool of its kind, Exposed allows users to enter a postcode to discover the number of reported knotweed infestations nearby, with hotspots clearly visible in yellow or red. Areas such as Wales, Bristol, Manchester and the Isle of Wight are particularly badly affected. In Cardiff, there are 414 occurrences within a 4km area of the city centre.

Even if knotweed is not visible on a property, where a high number of knotweed sightings appear nearby, surveyors may recommend that homebuyers instruct a Japanese knotweed specialists to survey/check the likelihood of the property being affected or at risk of encroachment from infestations in the vicinity.

Those who are concerned about the presence of knotweed near a property could purchase a specialist Japanese knotweed indemnity policy, which covers them for the cost of treatment, repairs, legal costs arising from third party claims and any diminution of the property’s value, should knotweed arise.

Nic Seal, Founder and MD of Environet, who created Exposed, said: “This heatmap will enable us to build a nationwide picture of the Japanese knotweed problem and help property and legal professionals to assess the risk locally. The site is already well populated, but this is an ongoing project and if no sightings are shown in the area, this does not guarantee that knotweed is not present. The more people who report sightings, the more effective it will become.”