Victorian Homes are the hardest to eco-refurbish

Phlorum has had a paper published in the March edition of the Environmentalist, the magazine sent to all 14,000 members of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA). The paper was written by Anthony Probert and is entitled ‘Tenant Participation in the Sustainable Refurbishment of Victorian Properties’. Anthony carried out the research whilst studying for his MSc, and concludes that whilst the idea of tenant participation is conducive to achieving widespread sustainable refurbishment of hard-to-treat homes, tenants’ lack of desire to participate has been fuelled by disappointment in previous landlord initiatives.

A copy of the paper can be downloaded by IEMA members from the IEMA website. Those interested who are not IEMA members can obtain a copy by emailing us at info@phlorum.com.

Bowles Leadership Training Course

Phlorum staff recently attended a leadership training course at the Bowles outdoor centre near Tunbridge Wells.

Japanese knotweed bio-control agent

Last week Defra announced Government approval for the release of a biological agent to control Japanese knotweed. Alaphara itadori is a sap sucking psyllid that feeds on Japanese knotweed in its native range in Japan.

Having submitted a detailed consultation response to Defra last year and having attended a Defra workshop to discuss the proposals, Phlorum remains sceptical of the likely success of the project. There are many reasons why the effect of the psyllid on Japanese knotweed might not be as significant as the press are currently reporting.

The research carried out so far has been with a small population of psyllids on small, immature knotweed plants in small, controlled environment chambers in the laboratory. Results from these experiments on the actual efficacy of the psyllid on knotweed are mainly anecdotal, unpublished and not peer-reviewed. There has apparently been no research on how the ecology of knotweed in the UK differs from that in its native range, which could significantly alter the relationship between Japanese knotweed and the psyllid. The lifecycle of the psyllid in the UK is also not understood. It is believed that it might overwinter on coniferous trees, but this has not been tested.

Possibly to appease knotweed contractors worried that the psyllid might put them out of business, Defra has also been keen to point out that the psyllid will make herbicide applications on Japanese knotweed more effective, but no detailed work has been undertaken to test this.

It is hoped that the questions raised above will be answered by ongoing research in the field. However, we believe that many answers could have been found with more research in the laboratory, well before the risks of releasing an alien species into the wild were accepted. It has been suggested that the release might have been brought forward due to the laboratory population of psyllids being weakened by successive generations of inbreeding. If this is so, it suggests that the risk of releasing the psyllid into the wild was accepted with unacceptable haste.

We await, with interest, the results of this new phase of the research.

Japanese knotweed damages property

According to the Telegraph, house sellers have been forced to spend thousands of pounds eradicating Japanese knotweed from their land after finding their homes had become virtually unsellable because potential buyers were being turned down for mortgages.

Lenders claim Japanese knotweed, which is capable of pushing through concrete, poses a risk to the structure and fabric of the building, and so reduces the value of a property.

Mortgage lenders are now beginning to insist that they will approve an application only if the Japanese knotweed on the property is removed and the homeowner obtains a written guarantee from the environmental control company to say it has been eradicated.

Japanese knotweed first escaped into the British countryside in the mid-19th century after being brought over from Japan as an ornamental garden plant.

The plant normally grows in the poor, rocky soils and on the slopes of volcanoes in Japan. Without natural pests and diseases, however, Japanese knotweed has become highly successful in the UK and it is capable of regenerating from just a tiny fragment.

The bamboo-like stems, which grow up to 12 feet tall, can push through concrete and can damage buildings. Japanese knotweed also has an extensive underground root system, called a rhizome, which make it difficult to destroy with herbicides.

This makes Japanese knotweed extremely difficult and expensive to eradicate from an area as the roots often need to be completely dug up and the contaminated soil disposed of. Cheaper herbicide spraying can be used provided the soil is treated.

Japanese knotweed is now so prevalent in the UK that according to official records there is now not a single 6 mile square in the country where it is not present and it is only considered to be absent from the Orkney Islands.

A spokesman for Santander, the country’s biggest mortgage provider through its ownership of Abbey and Alliance & Leicester, said:

“Due to the invasive and destructive nature of Japanese Knotweed, if the weed is found in close proximity to the property we would need to assess whether or not a mortgage could be accepted.”

David Miliband meets Phlorum

An exciting day for us today at Phlorum’s southern office.

David Miliband, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, popped by. He was here to meet with Elektromotive, a brilliant company that’s doing wonderful things with electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

However, we managed to spend some time with him to discuss our life cycle carbon assessment tool that’s currently being showcased at Ecobuild. David Miliband was impressed, which gives us greater confidence that the life cycle carbon assessment tool will be of use to those currently carrying out SAP, BREEAM and Code for Sustainable Homes assessments. Maybe he’ll even mention it to his brother, Ed, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, which would be nice!