Tackling Transport Severance
Programme summary
If not managed and mitigated properly, our transport infrastructure can inadvertently impact wildlife populations and vital ecological connectivity in a range of ways – creating barriers to movement, fragmenting habitats and increasing light, noise and water pollution.
Our programme will focus on improving key “nature connectivity infrastructure” within our Local Nature Recovery Strategy wildlife corridors, with the potential to roll out this approach out nationally.
New “green bridges” and wildlife tunnels can be built into our road network and existing underpasses can also be better adapted for wildlife movement. Adding “mammal ledges” to new and existing culverts will allow aquatic species such as otters to navigate better through our human-altered landscapes. “Dormouse bridges” will do the same where our motorways and A-roads have fragmented our woodlands.
The Programme will:
- Develop a regional strategy to mitigate the impacts of transport severance on wildlife, including retrofit of existing infrastructure and design of new infrastructure
- Construct “green bridges” and underpasses
- Install wildlife tunnels
- Fit mammal ledges in culverts
- Build dormouse bridges
Programme area
A regional map will identify locations for new nature connectivity infrastructure projects.
Five key locations along our motorway network were recently identified as potential sites for high-impact wildlife crossings, where “green bridges” or underpasses can provide safe passage for wild animals. Similar schemes will be looked at on key A-roads.
Key measures
Constructing “green bridges” or underpasses
Large green bridges or underpasses built over new roads will allow wildlife to move through the landscape safely. There is also the potential to retrofit similar structures over existing motorways and A-roads.
Installing wildlife tunnels
We need to build wildlife tunnels under new and existing roads. Existing underpasses can also be adapted to better aid safe wildlife movement.
Fitting mammal ledges in culverts
Adding mammal ledges to new and existing culverts will allow river and wetland species such as otters to safely navigate these man-made structures.
Installing dormouse bridges
Retrofitting existing bridges for dormice - one of our priority species - and installing new ones will help re-connect populations that have become isolated and declining, as our motorways and major A-roads have fragmented the landscape and blocked vital population flows.
Spotlight on species
Why is this a WENP priority?
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Transport infrastructure is vital for our modern society and economy. As of 2021, Great Britain had an estimated 247,800 miles of road, including 2,300 miles of motorways and 29,500 miles of A-roads. The West of England alone has over 3,000 miles of road, including long stretches of motorway (the M4, M5 and M32). Our transport system will need to be constantly modernised with new or retrofitted infrastructure.
Our transport networks now crisscross, and sometimes dominate, our landscape and they often act as barriers to wildlife, fragmenting our habitats and isolating populations of animals and plants. This weakens the underlying resilience of our ecology to climate change and human pressure, as species are not able to move freely and adapt to modern pressures.
Our transport networks also pose risks to wildlife in very direct ways, as wild animals try to cross busy human infrastructure – in the UK, hundreds of thousands of animals are lost every year. Light, noise and water pollution are also issues, and it has been discovered that impacts can extend as far as 700 metres from roads.
Making things easier for wildlife to move through and around our transport networks is essential for functional ecological networks.
Delivery readiness
South Gloucestershire Council has already been scoping transport severance issues for two years, with priority area mapping nearly complete. A partnership with the Bristol Zoo Project now aims to gather data on existing wildlife passageways and barriers to help inform future priorities.
Five locations along our motorway network were recently identified as potential sites for nationally-funded wildlife crossings, aligned with our Local Nature Recovery Strategy objectives.
New nature recovery projects, like Linking the Levels (see Severn Shoreline, Levels and Moors), are already integrating measures to address transport severance into their designs.
We need to establish a regional baseline – bringing together all the existing knowledge of our nature connectivity infrastructure across the region. We then need to develop and implement a monitoring program and data hub for existing nature connectivity infrastructure to measure its use and effectiveness, align policy across the region and inform our ongoing plans for maximum impact.
Case Study:
Our call for support
We are looking for public and private investment to hire a development officer to coordinate data gathering, mapping, baseline establishment and priority setting across the region. This evidence base and assessment will help inform local decision-making and target our re-connection initiatives, from green bridges to wildlife tunnels, for maximum lasting impact.
Funding sources could include City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements, grants from bodies like National Highways or Network Rail, developer contributions (e.g. through Biodiversity Net Gain requirements), the Community Infrastructure Levy and local authority infrastructure budgets. We also wish to expand innovative green finance initiatives like South Gloucestershire Council’s Investing in Climate and Nature scheme.
We are looking for partners to support us on the journey to turn our ambitions into reality. Whether you are a landowner, a potential delivery partner, donor, or something else, please in touch today to learn how you can support us.
Lead contact: Matthew Lipton, South Gloucestershire Council
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