Complete Weed Control win 5 year contract to treat Southampton’s Historic City Walls

National weed control specialists, Complete Weed Control, have won a five year contract with Southampton City Council for the treatment of the historic walls.

Southampton’s medieval walls surround the Old Town area of the city, and are important in defining the look and feel of this part of the city. The structures include walls, gateways, towers and houses that date from 1180 to 1420.

The stone walls are of national importance and are either scheduled monuments or listed buildings. Over time the masonry has been colonised by several plant species that will accelerate the decay process of the structures.

Southampton City Council invited grounds maintenance organisations to tender to treat the walls to prevent further decay from problem plants such as buddleia, ivy and valerian. The roots of these plants displace stone within the walls resulting in the formation of cracks allowing water to enter which leads to further damage from frost.

The company’s Thames Valley and South London team, headed up by Richard Allen, commenced the treatment programme in May and said: “The delicate nature of this contract is something that we are well equipped to handle, our extensive experience of similarly challenging projects coupled with the extensive range of equipment that we use to accurately apply plant herbicides, allows us to fulfil the contracts requirements.

“The management plan, that will allow us to safely access and treat the required areas without impacting surrounding vegetation was created to fully follow the client’s brief.”