Buzz created as pollinator paradises set for Norfolk roadsides
- By Elaine Bird
- 08 July 2021
- Norfolk
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County Council committee to consider tripling the number of Roadside Nature Reserves in Norfolk
Fewer cuts for rural roadsides, a pollinator action plan, and 188 more roadside nature reserves are all on the cards as part of plans to boost biodiversity along roads and paths across the county.
Cllr Barry Stone, Chair of the Infrastructure and Development Select Committee, said: “These plans are designed to help make our roadsides a real pollinator paradise.
“We’re clear that balancing safety and nature must be central to any new policy but we have a fantastic chance here to make some real changes for the better.”
The report set for discussion next week states that the proposals will help support ambitions in the County Council’s Environmental Policy that was approved in November 2019. It says that sympathetic management of roadside verges can provide a connected habitat for insects and wildlife.
Also on the agenda are plans to help boost cycling and walking across the county, and development of a new verge management policy which will include information for parish and town councils wishing to take on responsibility for verge cutting in their local area. The aim is to help involve local communities more in decisions about verge management near them.
Members of the committee will also be asked to note progress on a 3-year nature recovery demonstrator pilot project for roadside verges alongside Suffolk County Council. This will inform development of a monitoring mechanism for habitat connectivity for the emerging Norfolk and Suffolk 25 Year Environment Plan.
The Infrastructure and Development Select Committee will meet on Wednesday, 14th July. Papers for the meeting are available here: https://norfolkcc.cmis.uk.com/norfolkcc/Committees/tabid/62/ctl/ViewCMIS_CommitteeDetails/mid/381/id/171/Default.aspx
Editor's note: This is a huge document of 435 pages. there's a lot of interesting information in it but you'll need a comfy armchair and a cuppa!