Defra has released a new invasive species strategy for Great Britain, highlighting a vision protect biodiversity, ecosystems, people and the economy and implement a partnership of government, voluntary organisations, NGOs, academia, businesses and the public. The report highlights the likelihood that climate change will increase the problems caused by invasive species and sets out its […]
We may have said it before but sometimes we in the INNSA offices wonder whether we would have been better focusing on a career in the legal profession. Such thoughts have arisen a number of times over the past couple of months as we have watched several judgements come in from the civil courts and […]
As we start a new year, I thought it might be worth re-visiting why the Invasive Non Native Specialists Association (INNSA) was originally founded. Going back twenty years or so, invasive species had become an area for concern and Japanese knotweed in particular had captured the public imagination. Newspaper articles about devalued properties and damage […]
If you only read one line of this article, let it be this one: if you’re selling a home, consider long and hard before you answer “No”, to the question: “is the property affected by Japanese knotweed?” on the TA6 form – you may be much better off if you tick the “Not known” box… […]
As a health and safety professional, I’m a fan of evidence-based approaches and I love a good scientific study (at this point, I’m sure you’re wondering how you can get me along to your next party!), so it was with interest that I read the recently released Cardiff Council study into the effectiveness of three […]
In a recent case heard at County Court in London, the plaintiff’s claim was dismissed, and the defendant found not to be liable for damages or loss of value to her neighbour’s property caused by Japanese knotweed. Furthermore, the plaintiff was ordered to pay the defendant’s legal costs, making her liable for a bill estimated […]
For many people, the word “audit” inspires a sense of impending doom and a panicked search through files and hard drives to scramble together enough information to deal with whatever unexpected requests the terrible sadist of an auditor might come up with. I’ve been on both sides of numerous audits and I don’t see anything […]
While “enjoying” the current summer hiatus in government and given the continuing popularity of INNSA’s Code of Practice – Managing Japanese Knotweed, we at INNSA felt it was worth a quick update on what the government does still have in place as regards invasive plant species management. There are two principal sets of guidance we’ve […]
I must admit in the last few months to having had the odd doubt about the relevance of INNSA. The Property Care Association (PCA) pretty much covers everything a trade body should cover and does so with a huge amount of experience to back the service that it provides.
Insurance-Backed Guarantees (IBGs) are a fact of life within the Japanese knotweed industry and have been for several years. They are as much a feature of the conveyancing process as the plethora of other indemnities available to mitigate against every little issue that ever marred the balance sheet of a mortgage lender.
