Latest news from the verge: what’s happening where?
Posted June 15 2021
Many of you have been in touch to ask what’s being done for road verges in your local area, and we’re keen to celebrate the steps councils are taking to make road verge management more sustainable and wildlife-friendly. So we wanted to share with you our map highlighting the positive progress being made on our verges...
Our open letter
Dear Sir/Madam
Please adopt Plantlife's guidelines for managing road verges to benefit wild flowers and other nature. I know that road verges are under considerable pressure. Priorities for safety and access, along with budget constraints and difficulties with the collection of litter and grass clippings can mean that enhancing their wildlife value is often low on the list. But we believe that the adoption of a few basic principles will improve our verges for nature, bringing benefits for wildlife, for us and for future generations.
Yours faithfully,
Someone who cares about wildlife on our verges
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* This council may not be your local district or borough council – see "Trouble finding your council?" for the reason below.
Health & Safety
Safety must come first on our roads but with the size of most road verges there should be no conflict between this and conservation. For many verges a regular annual late summer cut and removal of mowings will keep the verge open, safe and thriving with interesting wildlife. We also agree that certain verges must be cut regularly cut to maintain clear lines of visibility – this is particularly crucial at junctions where a ‘visibility splay’ has to be maintained at all times. On some busy roads this also applies to the first metre from the edge of the carriageway.