Written evidence submitted by Andrew Haines, Chief Executive, Network Rail (JKW0035)

Thank you for your letter regarding our approach to managing Japanese Knotweed on our land. I know that this highly invasive plant can cause real concern for homeowners and I welcome the opportunity to set out our approach as part of the Committee’s inquiry.

We take action to manage Japanese Knotweed whenever it is identified on our land in order to stop it spreading to other parts of railway land and neighbouring property. Our treatment methods are in line with the guidance published by the Environment Agency, as well as wider industry standards. As your letter correctly identifies, however, this work can only be carried out by our own teams or by approved contractors for safety reasons.

While our suppliers and route teams are, of course, obliged to comply with the standards I mentioned above, they are currently unable to issue either insurance backed guarantees or an alternative equivalent formal assurance that Japanese Knotweed has been treated to the standard that mortgage lenders require.

I appreciate that this has caused difficulties for some of our neighbours who need to obtain those assurances to prove that treatment has been carried out, particularly when they are either buying or selling property next to railway land. For that reason, we are meeting with the Property Care Association on 18 March to discuss how we can provide our neighbours with the level of assurance needed to satisfy mortgage lenders.

I would be very happy to arrange a briefing for you or your committee colleagues with our subject matter experts at Network Rail to discuss this further if it would be helpful. At that point we would also hope to be able to update you on progress.

In the meantime, I have enclosed detailed answers to your other questions, along with some further information about our approach to Japanese Knotweed that may be useful to the Committee. I hope this is helpful.

March 2019

1. What is Network Rail’s policy in relation to managing Japanese Knotweed on its land?

We recognise that Japanese Knotweed can be a real concern for our neighbours. We take action to manage the plant when it is identified on our land and seek to stop it spreading to neighbouring property. This is in line with our responsibilities under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the Wildlife and Natural Environment Scotland Act 2011. Full details of our policy guidance and standards in instances where Japanese Knotweed is identified and requires treatment can be found in the enclosed leaflets.

2. What approach does Network Rail take when a neighbour complains about the presence of Japanese knotweed near their property?

When our lineside neighbours are concerned about Japanese knotweed on our land we encourage them to get in touch with our community relations team via our 24-hour helpdesk (0345 711 4141).  A Japanese Knotweed report will then be logged immediately, and our local teams will take the necessary action to manage the plant in line with the guidance and standards mentioned above.

3. What are the barriers to treating Japanese knotweed in a way that would allow homeowners to secure an insurance backed guarantee relating to the treatment undertaken?

For safety reasons, only suppliers appointed by Network Rail, or our own route-based teams, are allowed onto our land to treat Japanese Knotweed.

Our own teams aren’t able to provide insurance backed guarantees, as we are not an insurer. As a public sector organisation, we operate within the guidelines of managing public money. This means we are unable to justify the additional cost that would be incurred by requiring our contractors (where they carry out this work) to provide insurance backed guarantees for the treatment.

We recognise the difficulties these restrictions cause some of our neighbours. For that reason, we are meeting with the Property Care Association on 18 March to discuss how we can provide our neighbours with the level of assurance needed to satisfy mortgage lenders.

4. How much money has Network Rail spent defending legal cases relating to Japanese knotweed in the last 10 years?

The earliest claim in our records is dated 1 November 2005. Since this time, Network Rail has spent £454,351.42 in legal cases related to Japanese knotweed. This figure is spread over a total of 171 claims.

5. Would you support addressing Japanese Knotweed complaints through a mediation process?

We want our neighbours to feel that we do our best to work constructively and helpfully with them to tackle Japanese Knotweed and we try to always respond in a helpful, fair and consistent way to all complaints and claims. We’re absolutely open to mediation, where appropriate, as a positive way to settle a complaint and we will continue to avoid any kind of legal action, wherever possible.

6. How much money has Network Rail spent treating Japanese knotweed?

So far this financial year, Network Rail has treated approximately 600,000 square metres of Japanese knotweed. At an average treatment cost of £2 per square metre, this equates to around £1.2m.

7. What assessment have you made of the cost of treating Japanese knotweed across the whole Network Rail estate through a full eradication programme?

It is widely agreed that Japanese knotweed has spread to such an extent in the UK that full eradication is no longer possible. Network Rail also operates as a devolved organisation, so any assessment of the possibility of fully eradicating Japanese knotweed in a localised area would need to be made at a route level.

8. What advice would you give to homeowners whose property is near Network Rail land which is affected by Japanese Knotweed? Who should they contact in the first instance?

We’d advise them to get in touch with our community relations team via our 24-hour helpdesk (0345 711 4141).  That team will log the call immediately and our local teams will be tasked to take any necessary action to manage the plant in line with the guidance and standards mentioned above.