A land owner has won a damages fight after complaining about Japanese knotweed encroaching from neighbouring land. Court of Appeal judges ruled that Marc Davies is entitled to damages because a house he owns in Bridgend, South Wales, has been blighted.
Mr Davies has been involved in litigation with Bridgend County Borough Council, which owns a neighbouring lane, and had lost arguments in lower courts. But on Friday, Lord Justice Baker, Lord Justice Birss, and Lord Justice Snowden upheld an appeal after considering legal arguments at a recent Court of Appeal hearing in London.
The appeal judges explained that Mr Davies would get £4,900 damages for the “residual” diminution in value – or “blight” – of his property. They said the legal “principle” was important, given the “number of knotweed cases”.
