Demand for action over invasive floating pennywort

Boating communities are calling for more to be done to remove the invasive plant species floating pennywort from the River Avon in Gloucestershire.

The non-native plant can affect wildlife, navigation and flood risk, according to the Environment Agency (EA).

Gareth Bowen is the deputy director of Tewkesbury Marina, and says he is receiving regular complaints from boats docked in their four basins.

A spokesperson for the EA said: "There is no single organisation responsible for managing it across an entire river catchment. We established the Catchment Action Group, bringing together landowners, local organisations and volunteers to identify, remove and limit its spread."

Floating pennywort is native to South America, and is believed to have come to the UK in the 1980s. Since 2014, it has been illegal to purchase in this country and is also illegal to grow in the wild.

It can grow up to 20cm a day and cuts oxygen and light from plants and animals underneath its blankets on the water, smothering waterways in the UK.

The EA say responsibility for looking after floating pennywort lies with the landowner adjacent to the waterway, whether that be themselves or a private landowner.

Where resources allow, they will support landowners with removal.

Bowen said: "Boats can't navigate because it wraps around the propellers, causes all sorts of damage, and then lots of money [is needed] basically to lift a boat out and unwind it from all the propellers.

"It's literally blocking the waterways completely in certain areas now."

Trusts such as the Avon Navigation Trust help to look after rivers across the country.

They have been working alongside the EA to create the River Avon Catchment Action Group which works with volunteers to protect water and remove invasive plants like floating pennywort.

The Avon Navigation Trust said it plans to clear the Mill Avon section of the river in the next few weeks.

The EA said: "Managing invasive species is a long-term challenge, and lasting success depends on organisations and communities working together.

"We remain committed to supporting those efforts on the River Avon."

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