Biodiversity

(asked on 6th June 2019) - View Source

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the contribution that green bridges make to biodiversity.


Answered by
Thérèse Coffey Portrait
Thérèse Coffey
This question was answered on 14th June 2019

Green bridges are structures designed to provide wildlife and non-motorised users with easy and safe crossing of main roads and railways.

In 2015, Natural England published a review of the literature on green bridges. The review looked at 53 case studies from Europe and North America and found evidence that, in the majority of cases, green bridges were utilised by wildlife, although an assessment of their effectiveness in conserving wildlife populations was limited by the lack of long-term monitoring data. Guidance on the design of green bridges was also published by the Landscape Institute based on research undertaken by Natural England.

In 2015, the Government published research which included an assessment of the A21 Scotney Caste Green Bridge, constructed by the then Highways Agency, which found that of all incidences of bats crossing the road to and from the Scotney Castle Estate, 97 per cent used the green bridge. At least five bat species were recorded foraging over the bridge which was also used by deer, badger and breeding dormice.

The Government will keep the evidence for the effectiveness of these structures under review as new green bridges are planned and implemented.

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