The Council is not responsible for weeds or invasive plants unless they are on Council owned land. We do not provide a service for the identification of weeds. This must be carried out by a professional.

Natural England has advice on invasive weeds and DEFRA investigates matters which may be an offence under the Weeds Act 1959.

The Council may be able to investigate Japanese Knotweed if it’s on land immediately next to your property. But we cannot take action for other invasive weeds and bamboo. Please use the reporting form to see if we can help and for advice about who might be able to help. Please note, anonymous complaints cannot be processed. Additionally, if you have Japanese Knotweed on your land, you must declare that when selling your property.

Before reporting invasive weeds on neighbouring land, we recommend you speak to the owner of the land. If this is not possible, or if individuals are not approachable, consider writing to them.

Alternatively, why not try contacting Mediation Plus, the free mediation service we partner with. They can assist you in communicating with your neighbour. Before contacting Mediation Plus, please read their privacy policy and before you report the problem to us, we recommend you phone them on 01424 446 808 to discuss their services.

If you are privately renting your property or are a social housing tenant, please report the issue to your landlord first.