Highways England is starting a major programme of tree and shrub planting in Devon and Cornwall in a bid to connect a 105-mile wildlife habitat corridor.
The work is taking place at 21 sites along the A30 and A38 and involves planting 10,000 native trees and shrubs to fill or reduce gaps in hedgerow and woodland along the roadside.
In total the planting will provide around three extra miles of vegetation and connect over 105 miles of habitat on the verges and lands adjacent to the two roads.
Ecologist Leonardo Gubert said: ‘Highways England is committed to protecting the environment through its biodiversity plan and improving the connectivity of habitats along our roads is one of our top nature conservation priorities.
‘The main aim of this improvement scheme is to reconnect wildlife habitat and ecosystems on a significant scale across our road network in the South West allowing species to move between core areas.’
The scheme is being delivered under Highways England’s £30m national Biodiversity Plan, which recognises that road verges and associated land can be managed to provide areas of habitat, relatively free from human access, that may be scarce in the surrounding landscape.
These road verges can also be used to connect fragmented habitats in the wider landscape, enabling plant and animal populations to move and interact and so become stronger and more resilient.
Tree and shrub species being planted include oak, maple, holly, willow, honeysuckle and rose at locations between Pocombe Bridge and Pulsack on the A30 and Wrangaton and Bellamarsh on the A38. It said the majority of the works will not require any traffic management but a few schemes may require lane closures.
Highways England has also been undertaking a lowland heathland conservation scheme in Devon and Cornwall and has plans to expand the species in rich wildflower meadows in the South West as part of a future improvement programme.
