Dear Sir or Madam,

If you run an ecological protection scheme for road verges in your
area, please could you provide me with the following details:

a) what protection measures a verge receives when it is included in
the scheme

b) the list of verges covered by the scheme (and their locations -
road name/number and six figure OS grid references would be fine)

c) for each verge, the specific reasons why the verge has been
included in the scheme - i.e. the notable species found there, or
the NVC community present

If you do not run such a scheme in your area, but you are aware
that another body does, please could you refer me to them instead.

Many thanks,

Susan Davis

Dear Ms Davis

With regard to your query concerning a protected road verge scheme in York, we do not have such a scheme at present. As far as we are aware the habitat interest of York's road verges is very limited and there is only one site that has any form of 'protection'. This is the Copmanthorpe A64 Interchange and Roundabout-SE579477. This is primarily sps rich MG1/MG9 neutral grassland. This site is listed as a SINC site (Site of Importance for Nature Conservation or Local site if you wish to use the DEFRA title) in the City of York draft local plan and will be included in the SINC site list for the developing Local Development Framework.

As such, this is a non statutory designation that requires its nature conservation interest to be taken into consideration in the planning process, it does not provide any management control or protection, this can only be through agreement with the landowner. In this case, ownership rests with the Highways Agency and consists of an occasional cut and removal of arisings.

Elsewhere, despite considerable survey work carried out over the past two years no other significant verge interest has been identified. This is not to understate their general value but simply that they do not have a high botanical diversity. This is in line generally with the area. The heavy clays of the Vale of York have been intensively improved over many years and currently we are only aware of approx 64 ha of moderately sps rich neutral grassland in the whole of the City of York area of 26000ha.

With regard to the future, the Council's Countryside Officer is currently looking at enhancement of the Council's Park and Ride sites and developing a strategy for managing and enhancing the Ring Rd and selected area's within it. This, however, is in the very early stages of development and will require considerable consultation both internally and with the Highways Agency and adjacent landowners.

I hope this has been of some help to you. If you would like to discuss anything further, please contact the Council's Countryside Officer, Bob Missin.

Yours sinerely,

F Weeks

(If you are not satisfied by the way this request has been handled you can make a complaint in writing to myself. After that, if you are still not satisfied, you have recourse to the Information Commissioner).

Fred Weeks
Customer Support Services Manager
Directorate of City Strategy
01904 551622

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