Nice and neat and no evidence should an absentee landlord’s assets get a bit singed…
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I think most of the affected properties are rented (that’s very common in Didcot). Multiple landlords, few of them local. A co-ordinated plan is needed. But until very recently the council had been Tory for years. Their attitude is to cut the council tax a bit and then be absolutely fucking useless at doing anything whatsoever because austerity reasons. And if there is any money the last place it’ll be spent is Didcot.
VB
(the affected properties, not Didcot)
It will soon be the best time of year to spray the stuff. The concentrate is readily available on eBay (or certainly was a few years ago), then you need a pressure sprayer. Spray on a calm day with no rain forecast for at least 12 hours, wearing suitable PPE (nothing too mad needed). Spray all leaves on both sides, then leave. The glyphosate is carried back down into the root system in autumn as the plant retreats for winter, and does its job down in the roots. Repeat in subsequent years with any that emerges. Simple enough.
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I have been spraying our Mare’s Tail with the strongest available glyphosphate several times a year for the last 10 years, not only has it not killed it, it has spread and seems to thrive on it 
Never had to deal with mare’s tail - I was talking about Japanese knotweed.
Good luck!!!
Edit - I see that mare’s tail herbicides also contain 2,4-D. Apparantly glyphosate alone (even with the detergent that is in commercial formulations) will not penetrate the plant sufficiently
Edit2 - more technical explanation. Glyphosate is very water-soluble and is anionic (negatively charged). Most plants (and definitely knotweed and mare’s tail) have waxy surfaces on their leaves, especially the upper surface, which repels water. In order to get the herbicide into the plant some cationic (positively charged) detergent is included in the formulation, so that a neutral ion-pair can penetrate the waxy cuticle and get into the leaf. The detergent used varies from brand to brand and some can be strong skin irritants.
This works well enough for knotweed, but it seems that mare’s tail (with narrower and tougher leaves) needs some breakdown of the leaf to get the herbicide in. Some recommend mechanical bashing, or the 2,4-D will attack the leaves and soften them enough to allow glyphosate to penetrate.
We’ve got some Japanese Knotweed here, really need to get straight into dealing with it. Weirdly it’s not notifiable in France in any way like it is in the UK
We have a creeping weed with white bell shaped flowers in our garden - I think it’s called bindweed. Is this bad? 
It is a pain, but much easier to manage. We have it in our back garden. I just weed it out periodically when it starts climbing other plants.
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Yup, bindweed/convolvulus. The roots spread quickly and widely and a plant can spring up from a tiny broken piece of root. But they don’t go deep so if the soil is at all breakable (i.e. not baked like concrete) you can lift them out quite easily. I imagine glyphosate would nuke it too. If it gets a good hold of whatever it’s creeping up you can end up snapping the plant you like while you try to untwist the one you don’t. So it’s worth nailing it early on, before it gets everywhere. On the other hand as a creeper it can look quite pretty. I know people who like it.
VB
To give her proper name.
/Flanders and Swann
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The problem with bindweed is that it often grows in the roots of plants you don’t want to disturb.
I make up some weed killer, put it in a jar, gather up the bindweed and push it into the jar. Then cover the jar to stop anything drinking it. I use roundup which kills down to the roots.
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very…concrete over the garden
I have a better idea - everyone coming to my pizza/bbq next month can have a go at weeding. I’ll award a prize to the slaughterman who collects the most bindweed. 
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I reckon you should think about moving house mate. It’s the only way
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Tried that 
The Mare’s Tail is actually growing through the tarmac in the footpath outside our house 
If there’s nothing in the vicinity that I care about (ie it’s ground that’s going to get concreted with no other plants in) is there anything more vicious than glyphosate that I can use on knotweed?
You need something that will get down to the roots and stop regrowth there. Glyphosate will do that. If you use herbicides that cut off energy to the plant (e.g. Paraquat) then it will just regrow.
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Napalm + agent orange.
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