Japanese knotweed found at development site of former cinema in Wellington

Telford & Wrekin Council planners have given Morro Partnerships, of Cannock, permission to build a 63 bed care home where the Clifton Cinema / Dunelm used to sit following a now-resolved wrangle over its design.

The developers will have to comply with a host of conditions before a construction starts. They will also have to remove the pernicious plant.

Japanese knotweed is described as an invasive weed by gardening experts at the RHS. It is subject to legal control measures partly because of its ability to cause damage to hard surfaces, such as paving, Tarmac and asphalt. The lack of a plan to deal with it can even affect property buyers and sellers.

Developers have agreed to a list of pre-commencement conditions, including that they remove the Japanese knotweed which specialists identified.

The council has told them that it is a “criminal offence to allow these species to be released into, or caused to grow, in the wild and landowners should not allow these species to spread onto neighbouring land, although they may not be obliged to remove or treat them on their own land.”

“Development cannot commence until the plant has been completely removed from the site. Japanese knotweed is classed as a controlled waste and should be disposed of by an experienced contractor to an approved waste site,” council planners say.

The site on Groom’s Alley in Wellington, Telford is approximately 0.4 hectares in extent and includes hardstanding, compacted hardcore and other neutral

grassland.

Environmental experts Ecology by Design reported to the developers that “the site contains a single stem of Japanese knotweed and the proposals have

potential to result in its spread into the wild.” They recommended the specialist removal of Japanese knotweed to avoid its spread into the wild.

Planning decision documents placed on the council’s website reveal that objections from a heritage expert that the care home would be ‘overbearing’ and block local views of The Wrekin have been overcome.

Officials now consider the plan to be a “sustainable form of development on previously developed land.”

It would also “meet an identified need for specialist housing within the borough; consists of appropriate scale, design massing which is sympathetic to the site’s context and respects the character of the area, and; would not result in any significant detrimental impacts upon neighbouring properties.”