Couple’s legal tangle with neighbour who sold them home invaded by knotweed
A PENSIONER is being sued by a married couple over claims she has failed to stop Japanese knotweed from spreading on to their driveway.
Adam and Eleanor Smith, both 43, claim the notoriously invasive plant has reduced the value of their seaside home in Cornwall by 10 per cent.
Rosemary Line, 74, says she has done everything in her power to destroy the knotweed, including burning it and dousing it in herbicide.
She has accused the Smiths of using the threat of legal action to force her to surrender land that she owns next to their home in Maenporth. She also claims that knotweed was present in the Smiths’ property some 26 years before it first appeared on her land in 2001.
Mrs Line, who now lives in Falmouth, sold the three-bedroom detached home to the Smiths for £200,000 in 2002, but retained ownership of woods, a field and stables next to the house.
In the past 15 years the knotweed from her land has rapidly spread and now consumes part of the Smiths’ driveway.
The house should be worth £500,000, but the value has fallen because of knotweed damage. Mrs Line believes the case, which is being heard at Truro County Court, could have consequences for other homeowners dealing with the knotweed menace.
Fast-growing Japanese knotweed is enormously difficult to control and can force its way through concrete and tarmac. In recent years, homeowners have been told it is cheaper to knock down and rebuild their properties than treat the knotweed. Speaking before the case, Mrs Line said: ‘Over the past 15 years I have sprayed the knotweed with herbicide, utilised the services of the council, cut and burned the weed, and now entered into a contract to complete an annual knotweed maintenance programme.
‘Mr and Mrs Smith claim the Japanese knotweed growing on my land is invading them and causing them a nuisance.
‘The knotweed was first recorded on my land in 2001, 26 years after it had been present on [what it now] Mr and Mrs Smith’s property. Their solicitors say that the Japanese knotweed presence on the adjoining land reduces the value of the property, even though Mr and Mrs Smith have shown no intention of selling their home.’
Mr Smith, who run an electrical business with his wife, told the court: ‘The only investment I’ve got is my house. I have no money in the bank. I’ve worked very hard for my property and I don’t want it ruined. It’s my family home. I’ve spent 15 years working for my children to live opposite the beach and grow up in a pleasant location.’
He told Mrs Line: ‘We’ve been trying to get you to do it for years and if you’d have done it years ago you wouldn’t be in this situation.’
Mrs Line accused the Smiths of using the court case as an ‘underhand land grab’. She claims they offered to buy her land in 2013 in return for dropping the case.
A case summary submitted as evidence to the court read: ‘Rosemary Line firmly believes that the claimant has been listening to a bit too much Wagner and is interested in invading her land at any given opportunity.
‘Rosemary Line believes this is a malicious case to encourage her to pass ownership of the land to the claimant, and a veiled attempt at adverse possession, due to the repeated attempts by the claimant to achieve ownership of the land.’
Barrister John Clargo, for Mr and Mrs Smith, asked Mrs Line: ‘Do you seriously claim the reason this case has been brought is because these are nasty people who want your land?’Mrs Line replied: ‘I think the knotweed is part of it.’
Mr Clargo accused Mrs Line of being unco-operative during the litigation, saying she had not responded to solicitors’ letters or emails and had failed to produce documents ahead of the court hearing on time.
He added that she had refused to pay for the services of an independent expert appointed by the court until the judge ordered her to do so. The judge will rule on the case today.