Harmful and invasive weeds

Owners and occupiers of land have a duty to prevent harmful weeds and invasive plants from spreading from their land on to other people’s land.

 

The Ragwort Policy portrays out how South Derbyshire District Council (SDDC) assesses and where appropriate controls ragwort on council managed highway verges and public open spaces. Ragwort provides important benefits for biodiversity; however, it can be harmful for grazing animals if it is in fodder. Furthermore, the Ragwort Policy explains how the council assesses, manages, and monitors ragwort on the land it is responsible for. It aims to raise awareness and provide information about ragwort so that the benefits and the risks are understood, and a clear process of assessment and action by the council is set out.  Complaints about these sorts of harmful weeds can be made to South Derbyshire District Council (Link to customer services), if ragwort is on SDDC land with an appropriate grid reference or postcode, SDDC can investigate.

 

Other plants, like Japanese Knotweed, are not harmful but can spread very quickly. These are known as ‘invasive’ weeds. The law is less clear about invasive weeds, but you mustn’t plant them and if they are on your land you shouldn’t be allowing them to spread onto someone else’s land.   

 

We can help with invasive weeds, but generally we would expect owners of land with invasive weeds to work together to solve the problem. We’ve produced our own short guide ^{(pdf, 308kb)} on Japanese Knotweed and the law.