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  "path": "/news/neighbour-row-japanese-knotweed-jungle-weeds",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-29T10:19:59.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Homeowners on 'England's prettiest street' fume at Turkish neighbours over fresh renovation plans",
    "Grandmother vows to chain herself to hedge after neighbour threatens to cut it down",
    "Neighbour row plea issued by police force after officers left irritated by repeat emergency call outs",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nA neighbour row came to a head after a homeowner was ordered to clear a \"jungle\" of weeds at his posh west London property.\n\nKensington and Chelsea Council has agreed to issue a Section 215 notice requiring Nicholas Halbritter to clear the land around his property on Ifield Road, West Brompton.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe 78-year-old former Conservative councillor was initially prosecuted for failing to maintain his plot in 2017.\n\nNeighbours say the overgrown garden has made nearby homes in the affluent area of west London difficult to sell and caused long-running problems.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nOne nearby resident, Christine Gambles, claimed Mr Halbritter does not live in the house but is said to occasionally drop by.\n\nShe said: \"When I try to talk to him, he runs away or slams the door. My husband died four years ago and at some point I need to sell this house. You can't sell a house with knotweed next door – I'm completely stuck.\"\n\nAnother neighbour, Nik Hoexter, claimed the knotweed is \"15 feet high (about 4.5m)\", adding that there has been a putrid smell emanating from the property.\n\nHe told a council meeting: \"There’s rats, foxes, there’s a mosquito swarm from a leaking mains,” he said, adding that the vegetation at the back was \"growing into the house from broken windows\".\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nResidents report hearing foxes mating in the basement and describe the property as an \"eyesore\" affecting the entire street.\n\nHalbritter pleaded guilty at Hammersmith Magistrates' Court in 2017 to failing to comply with a notice containing 10 conditions for maintaining the land, including addressing the Japanese knotweed and removing rubbish from the basement and garden areas.\n\nLand records indicate he has owned the property for more than four decades.\n\nNeighbours claim the problems have persisted for two decades without resolution.\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS\n\n\n\n\n  * Homeowners on 'England's prettiest street' fume at Turkish neighbours over fresh renovation plans\n  * Grandmother vows to chain herself to hedge after neighbour threatens to cut it down\n  * Neighbour row plea issued by police force after officers left irritated by repeat emergency call outs\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nCouncil officers had initially claimed the garden was cleared by November 2017, so the notice was considered \"complied with\" and the case closed.\n\nIn the report recommending that no action be taken, the council said the presence of knotweed was \"unconfirmed\" as no evidence or testing had been provided.\n\nConservative councillor for the corresponding Redcliffe ward Marie‑Therese Rossi told the committee this report was \"fallacious\".\n\n\nA Kensington and Chelsea council spokesman said: \"Following the decision of the Planning Applications Committee, we are proceeding with a Section 215 notice and will progress it in line with the legislation and relevant guidance.\"\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nLocal MP Ben Coleman condemned the council's response, drawing on his decade of experience as a councillor.\n\n\"They are being derelict in their duty to residents,\" the Labour MP for Kensington and Chelsea said, adding that the authority was \"just keep making excuses for not doing what they should be doing.\"\n\nProperties on the street command prices exceeding £1million for flats, with one terraced house fetching £3.7million just two years ago.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "Neighbour row erupts after homeowner ordered to clear 'jungle' of weeds and wildlife"
}