ANNUAL CONFERENCE REPORT
The second INNSA Conference was held on 15th March in Derby and brought together over 100 representatives from all areas of the industry.
The day started with a welcome from the Chairman, Mike Clough, and was hosted by steering group member, Nick Hartley.
The first speaker was Trevor Salmon, Head of Native and Invasive Non-Native, Species Conservation at Defra. He highlighted the challenges posed by invasive non-native species in the UK and advised that the GB Invasive Non-native Species Strategy was updated in 2015 and is intended to provide a framework within which the actions of government departments, their related bodies and key stakeholders can be better co-ordinated. A copy of the updated document can be downloaded from http://www.nonnativespecies.org/home/index.cfm
Trevor Renals from the Environment Agency talked about the safe disposal of non-native plants and announced that the Knotweed Code of Practice is being replaced and the Regulatory Position Statement is expected to be completed early Summer of this year. Jo Wilding from RSK gave a brief introduction on how they manage land, remediation options, important aspects of remediation and incuded an interesting case study in Derbyshire. Nick Hartley spoke about the worries warranties then gave details of the new INNSA proposition which is a site specific commercial IBG that balances the requirements of the lenders with the needs of th developers. Further details will be available to members shortly. During lunch, delegates had the opportunity to visit the various exhibition stands and network with colleagues, old and new.
Barrie Hunt from Monsanto opened the afternoon session with the latest news on the use of and effects of Glyphosate. He was followed by Professor John Moverley from The Amenity Forum, the collective body representing the Amenity industry in relation to weed, pest & disease control. Their priority areas are to improve practice in the amenity sector, enhanced protection of water and integrated approaches on the use of pesticides as part of a range of control measures. Lindsay Smith then gave a short history of BASIS and its commitment to the Amenity Industry with support providing means of certification, CPD schems and independent audit services. Joy Adams from Coventry City Council then gave a insight into dealing with Japanese Knotweed from a local authority perspective. We then welcomed back Christine Oxenburgh who talked about the Infrastructure Act 2015 comparing any changes brom last year to this. We were then entertained by Maria Jarosz giving the perspective of Network Rail, Mike Ockenden on the lenders’ perspective and Graham Ellis, the view from property surveyors. Our final session was from Lorna Bown, PCCB Inspector, on the importance of the INNS Code which sets minimum standards which members of INNSA must meet, providing best practice and quality standards.
The discussions went on into the evening with an informal dinner.
Copies of the presentations are available below to download.
Trevor Renals – Environment Agency
Nick Hartley – Worries with Warranties
Prof John Moverley – Part 1 and Prof John Moverley – Part 2