A billionaire cyclist and his partner are suing their next-door neighbors for £250,000, claiming that Japanese knotweed has invaded the foundations of their £1.6 million home.
Christopher Clarke, the owner of a cycle tour company and the director of a cycling charity, reports that the knotweed has overrun an area of ground next to his detached home in Kensal Green, north west London.
He says the notorious invasive plant ran wild on his neighbours’ land and was now ‘leaning over’ his fence so thickly that he couldn’t open his back door properly. It even billowed into his house when he opened the door, he added.
Mr Clarke and his partner Louise Kaye say knotweed roots, known as rhizomes, have tunnelled from land next door owned by couple Talha and Minha Abbasi and into the footings of their Victorian house, which they bought in December 2014 for £1,159,999.
They are now suing Mr and Mrs Abbasi, demanding up to £250,000 in compensation and claiming their failure to deal properly with the knotweed on their land has devalued their house, which would otherwise now be worth £1.67m.
But financial consultant Mrs Abbasi and her husband deny any blame for the knotweed issues next door and say that any problem must have already been there when they bought the strip of land in 2016 for £166,000.
If left unchecked, Japanese knotweed can cause serious damage to buildings and infrastructure, as well as blighting properties and making it difficult to obtain a mortgage or sell a home.
Cuttings are classed as permitted hazardous waste due to its capacity to spring up and create a new infestation from the tiniest part of the cut plant, making it exceedingly difficult to eradicate once established.
Mr Clarke and his partner are suing the other pair, claiming ‘damages for nuisance for the invasion of Japanese knotweed on to the claimants’ land from the defendants’ surrounding land,’ according to barrister Andy Creer for Mr Clarke and his partner at Central London County Court.
Mr Clarke, who helps manage cycling charity Club Peloton and cycle company Cycle-to Events, claimed the infestation has reduced the value of his home by up to 15%, which he and his partner blame on the couple next door for failing to adequately deal with.
Their barrister claimed that ‘rhizomes growing on the defendants’ land are now under (Mr Clarke and his partner’s) property and in its foundation,’ and that they have been ‘unable to obtain mortgage finance on the property because of the knotweed on the adjoining land because it was not subject to a knotweed management plan.’
When Mr. Clarke and Ms. Kaye moved in, they discovered a knotweed infestation on their own property, which they claim they were unaware of at the time, but which they had professionally removed in 2015.
However, two years later, in 2017, a knotweed expert determined that “the knotweed on the neighbouring land constitutes an imminent threat of damage to the claimants’ residence,” according to the lawyer.
Mr Clarke and Ms Kaye insist that the soil on their neighbors’ properties be dug out to a depth of three metres to remove all traces of the invasive weed, with the houses propped up while the job is done.
They had initially ‘hired general contractors to cut down the knotweed stems, which neither controls nor eradicates the knotweed’ instead of bringing in professionals.
Ms Clarke and Ms Kaye are also seeking an injunction to ‘compel treatment of the knotweed on the defendants’ land, or to prevent further encroachment onto the claimants’ land,’ in addition to damages.
Mrs. and Mrs. Abbasi ‘admit…that they knew of the knotweed’ before purchasing their land, according to the barrister, and were written to by their neighbors’ solicitors in July 2016 ‘informing them that the knotweed needed to be dealt with quickly.’
‘Despite various assurances in emails, the defendants took no actions to treat the knotweed between September 2016 and June 2017, and it continued to pose a threat of invasion and property damage,’ she added.
However, Mr. and Mrs. Abbasi’s attorney, Tom Carter, told the Court that knotweed experts’ findings revealed that it had encroached on the Abassis’ land in 2012 or earlier.
‘This suggests it encroached before the defendants bought the property,’ he explained.
‘The defendants argue that they are not liable for any losses incurred by the claimants since those losses occurred prior to any duty or breach by the defendants.’
Mr Clarke testified before the judge that thick stalks of knotweed that had sprung on neighboring land had been ‘encroaching by leaning over’ against his back wall and back door, in addition to creeping into the foundations of his house.
‘When you open the door, it comes through,’ he said to the judge.
The judge will make a decision on the case at a later date.