Weed made family home 'worthless'
03 September 2009
By Julia Rodgerson
Family are unable to sell their house due to invasive Japanese knotweed in their garden.
A family with two disabled children have been left devastated after being told they cannot sell their house and move because it is 'worthless' due to being infested with an exotic plant.
Carl Bowden and his wife, Anne, of Darley Dale, had hoped to sell their house and buy a bungalow better suited to the needs of their sons, Thomas, five, and Patrick, four, who have cerebral palsy.
But they have been been told their old house is riddled with Japanese knotweed. The plant can cause damage to foundations and brickwork.
The family moved to a rented house in Bakewell in readiness for putting their house up for sale.
A buyer was found but at the 11th hour was forced to pull out after their bank refused to offer them a mortgage when a survey flagged up the knotweed.
Full time carer Mr Bowden, 42, said: "We can't adapt the old house to suit the needs of our children. We really need a downstairs bedroom as my youngest can't walk or talk.
"I was not really aware of it and thought it was just a weed. Potentially it can encroach into building foundations and can pull your house down.
"We have been told our house is worthless until this is sorted."
Specialists have now been called in to deal with the problem which could take up to five years to clear completely and cost thousands of pounds.
Mrs Bowden, 43, said: "The worst part of it is unless people treat theirs as well it will probably encroach on our land again.
"It is very serious issue and our sale is hanging on it being sorted. It has been very difficult and very awkward we've not had much support from anybody over it."
The family hope with the treatment programme in place another buyer will be found.
Japanese knotweed specialists recommend cutting, clearing, stockpiling, incinerating and then chemically treating the infestation at the earliest opportunity.
Adrian Fidler of Matlock estate agent Fidler Taylor said knotweed could affect house prices.
"If you have got knotweed in your garden then it is something that will be built in to what you get for your house. It can be dealt with chemically but will take some time."
Mike Clough, director of Japanese Knotweed Solutions, which is working at the Bodens' home, said: "It is a significant problem and there are more and more sites in Derbyshire.
"It tends to follow water courses and the rivers in and around Matlock and Bakewell have masses of knotweed."
Japanese knotweed was introduced to the UK as an ornamental plant in the 1800s.
Last month the Mercury reported that Wirksworth has one of the highest infestations of the weed in the county.
<< back
