A large well-known manufacturer of soft drinks was due to further develop their site and create a lorry park on adjacent land. An extended Phase 1 habitat survey detected the presence of invasive species Japanese knotweed, in several areas on the proposed site, halting their plans.
Measuring approximately 1.7 hectares, the site was best described as dense scrubland with tall ruderal vegetation, scattered broadleaved trees and poor marshy grassland with several large stands of Japanese knotweed. The dense vegetation made access difficult in some areas when surveying, but we were able to achieve a relatively accurate record of the site conditions.
Prompt eradication was vital to fit in with the client’s timescales and two viable methods of eradication were proposed: offsite disposal and on-site mechanical screening. On-site screening was recommended and preferred by the client as it offered significant cost savings and isa more sustainable solution which fit with the companies objectives.. Ebsfords award winning screening system was designed in house specifically for the treatment of Japanese knotweed and is able to process large amounts of contaminated material with minimal waste product. Rhizomes are separated from the soil during the process and resulting clean fines material can be re integrated into site.. All extracted Japanese knotweed fragments are incinerated making this a zero waste solution, eliminating damaging lorry trips to the landfill.
Ebsford began works with a 10-week plan to screen all stands of Japanese knotweed. It became apparent an area to the far eastern point of the site, beyond the proposed lorry turning circle, didn’t require development until a later date. This allowed us to utilise the space to bury some material less suitable for screening, further reducing costs for the client. In some areas the infestation had extended beyond the site boundary, therefore specialist root barrier was an essential, to protect the site from any remaining knotweed off-site.
The works came in under the 300k budget with zero waste and a completely invasive species free site was handed back to the client within the estimated ten-week schedule..
