Adult & Cultural Services
The Courts – English Street – Carlisle
Cumbria – CA3 8NA – Fax 01228 606706
Tel 01228 221234 – Email [Cumbria County Council request email]
Date: 24 March 2009
Your Reference:
Our Reference: EIR 2009-010
Email: [FOI #8854 email]
Dear Ms Davis
ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION REGULATIONS 2004
– REQUEST FOR
INFORMATION Ref: EIR 2009-010
The Council has completed its search for information relating to ecological protection
schemes which we received on 9 March 2009
The Council holds information within the definition of your request. The following and
attached information has been supplied by Environment Directorate.
The background and rationale for Cumbria County Council verge maintenance is
summarised on our website, where a leaflet can also be found. The website link is
http://www.cumbria.gov.uk/roads-transport/highways-pavements/highway-
maintenance/grasscuttingandroadsideverges.asp
All Cumbria’s verges are managed to some extent with the verge flora in mind. All
verges are given a verge cutting time to suit the verge with the aim of achieving the
necessary highways maintenance without cutting the verge at the prime flowering
period. The current cutting times are given in the attached schedule.
There are also c 640 Special Roadside Verges covering c 690 km length. I attach plans
showing their location in Cumbria.
Each Special Verge also has the cuttings removed. Three are SSSIs – parts of
Lamonby Verges & Fields, Millfield Verges and Raisbeck Meadows. Some are County
Wildlife Sites and therefore given some protection through the planning system. Many
are included in the Natural England Grassland Inventory and shown on the Magic
website.
In addition here at the County Council we seek to protect these Special Verges from
development/ damage in any advice that we give. The District Councils also have the
GIS boundaries supplied as part of a data package from the Cumbria Biological Data
Building pride in Cumbria
Network, based at Tullie House Museum. Note under the terms of their licence
agreement they are not permitted to pass this information on.
We have c 640 Special Verges, the majority well mapped and others somewhat
uncertain, hence the red symbols on the plan. Each side of the road is a separate
verge. Usually both sides of the road are identified but sometimes this is not the case.
Each verge has a separate code number. We do not have grid references for the
verges.
We hold botanical information on each verge in an access database. Verges were
chosen by a site visit during 1993-5 with a certain amount of data collected, varying
from site to site. Verges were usually chosen for their botanical diversity, though
sometimes chosen for a single species, such as giant bellflower or melancholy thistle.
Verges are a range of habitats – neutral grasslands, calcareous grasslands, more
marshy grasslands, woodlands, some with heath. Most can be categorised as
predominantly neutral (420 of the 640).
Our GIS is not capable of linking the access database information to the site boundary
automatically. To provide initial information on each verge is possible, but to link this to
each verge on the plan would take a considerable amount of time.
For further information please contact the County Ecologist, Environment Unit,
Environment Directorate, County Offices, Kendal, Cumbria LA9 4RQ.
Schedule from Highways Maintenance Manual
Nature Conservation and Biodiversity
General
4.1.
In preparing, carrying out or authorising works, all reasonable care and measures must be taken to
ensure that there is no interference with protected species of animal, plant or bird. The Wildlife and
Countryside Act 1981 and subsequent regulations prescribe various criminal offences relating to
disturbance or damage to protected species and also introduce a licence system for works which,
could affect certain species. Detailed advice to be followed for County Council works is given in EWI
09/005. Additionally, the County Council is under a duty to have regard to biodiversity in all our
functions under the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 (NERC Act). Cumbria
Highways complies with these requirements as the verge maintenance policy is based on ecological
and biodiversity principles.
Verge Maintenance
4.2.
All verges have been categorised according to the plant mix contained within the verge section.
Sections are considered to run from junction to junction to avoid splitting them up into too many small
areas. A cutting time has been allocated to each verge type. Refer to table below for details.
Management Verge type
First cut: Safety Second cut: Safety swathe /
type
swathe
full width cut of verge
0/0S
Privately managed
No cut
No cut
1 / 1S
Coarse grassland - summer flowering
15 May - 15 June 15 August - 31 October
2 / 2S
Short grassland - Spring / summer
15 July - 15
1 Sept - 31 Oct
flowering
August
2A / 2AS
Summer flowering grassland - Special
15 Aug - 31 Aug 1 Sept - 31 Oct
3 / 3S
Coarse hedge bank - spring flowering
1 July - 31 July
15 August - 31 October
4 / 4S
Grassland with heath or woodland to rear 15 August - 15
No cut
or short grassland privately cut in Autumn September
5
Poached / disturbed grassland
No cut
15 August - 31 October
6 / 6S
Dwarf shrub heath
No cut
No Cut – remove self sown
trees as necessary
7 / 7S
Narrow steep banks backed by wall or
Cut by hand 15
No cut
hedge.
August - 15 Sept.
8 / 8S
Coarse grassland privately cut in Autumn 15 May - 15 June No cut
9/9S
15 Sept - 30 Sept 15 Sept - 30 Sept
10/10S
1 Oct - 30 Oct
1 Oct - 31 Oct
11/11S
15 May - 31 May 1 Oct - 31 Oct
“S” denotes Special Verges.
On Special Verges the cuttings are to be collected and removed from site to prevent enrichment of the soil.
Frequency of full width cut:
For non-special verges, full width cut every four years in rotation.
For special verges full width cut every two years in rotation.
We have also attached copies of the maps indicating the areas mentioned.
The information supplied to you continues to be protected by the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988. You are free to use it for your own purposes, including any non-
commercial research you are doing and for the purposes of news reporting. Any other re-
use, for example commercial publication, would require the permission of the copyright
holder.
If you have a complaint about the way we have responded to your request or wish to
appeal against our decision please write to:
Customer Services
Cumbria County Council
FREEPOST NWW6059A
The Courts
Carlisle
CA3 8NA
Tel: 0800 121 8800
E-mail: [email address]
If you are not satisfied with the Council’s internal review of your complaint you have the
right to appeal to the Information Commissioner:
FOI/EIR Complaints Resolution
Information Commissioners Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF http://www.ico.gov.uk
Yours sincerely
Nicola Howell
Information Manager
