PROJECT EXAMPLE: THE GUINNESS PARTNERSHIP
DISCOVER HOW WE HELPED ESTABLISH THE EXTENT OF THE KNOTWEED PROBLEM
The Guinness Partnership is one of the largest providers of affordable housing and care in England. The Partnership owns and manages around 65,500 homes and provides services for more than 135,000 people.
The Guinness Partnership approached Japanese Knotweed Ltd (JKL) to assess the problem of Japanese knotweed on some of their managed properties. JKL’s PCA and CSJK qualified surveyors inspected these residential properties recording the presence of knotweed and assessing the perceived property risk, in accordance to the RICS property risk category for knotweed (IP 27/2012). A survey report, site plan and photographic record of the inspection was provided separately for each property.
The Guinness Partnership instructed JKL to deliver its 5-year herbicide knotweed management plan to the properties to provide professional control of the Japanese knotweed. JKL’s Area Technicians undertake herbicide application works and are NPTC PA1, PA6, PA6AW qualified and PCA Qualified Technician in Japanese knotweed. Herbicide works are undertaken to ensure maximum damage to the target plant while avoiding damage to any non-target plants. Folia Spraying, Stem Injection and Leaf Wiping are all methods of treatment undertaken to treat invasive plants. Where the application of herbicide takes place on or near water the company applies for and obtains a license to discharge herbicide from the Environment Agency.
Operational works are set-up, managed and controlled via the company’s Contracts Team and the Operational teams. The company undertakes over 3,750 herbicide contracts (of a 5-10-year duration) across England, Scotland and Wales.
The company strives to ensure its processes and systems not only allow us to work effectively and efficiently, but also so that our customers receive the best level of service and care. The company has invested and continues to invest in new cloud technologies to enable this. For example, on completion of a herbicide treatment visit, our Area Technicians complete an electronic site visit form, whilst still on site.
This instantly provides the client, via email, a site visit record, including record of the visit, details of work undertaken, progress of treatment and a photo of the treatment area. The record of this work then files to a central database allowing our contracts team to provide The Guinness Partnership up-to-date management reports for their treatment sites.
JKL are currently providing 93 active treatment programmes for The Guinness Partnership.