Tesco hit by £750k weed bill

Jun 8 2008 By Billy Paterson

A DESTRUCTIVE weed has added £750,000 to the cost of a new Tesco superstore.

The supermarket giants have been unable to start work on their huge new outlet because Japanese knotweed has been found on the site.

Construction at the Kilmarnock site, which cost Tesco more than £10million, was due to start this month.

Tesco now have to call in specialists to get rid of the plant, which exposes and worsens weaknesses in brick, concrete and tarmac.

Experts say it is the biggest problem facing the construction industry and it would cost £1.56billion to eliminate it from Britain.

Tesco said: "We recognise the difficulty and cost of dealing with knotweed and are looking at a variety of methods.

"The problem has been identified early and that ensures we can meet our obligations and minimise impact on development."

An insider said: "You have to dig six foot down and cover the weed before you can dig it out to prevent the spores spreading.

"Then it has to be taken to a specialist landfill site and there are very few licensed to deal with Japanese knotweed.

"The whole operation will cost £750,000."

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