Monday 4 Apr 2011
RAIL WORK MAKES ROOM FOR BIODIVERSITY IN COTSWOLD
- Region & Route:
- | Wales & Western: Western
- | Wales & Western
Network Rail has set up an eco task force to help rare species move into new homes on the railway, protecting them as improvement work on the North Cotswold line moves to the next vital stage.
Special temporary measures, including the use of a night vision camera and amphibian fencing, have been deployed to survey and help relocate badgers, great crested newts and around 3,000 roman snails near Charlbury.
Lucie Anderton, Network Rail’s environment specialist, said “The railway is extremely rich in biodiversity today and this is partly owing to our concerted efforts to conserve and protect the environment. Interestingly, we found through ecological surveys that the area around Charlbury is a great breeding area for badgers, newts and roman snails.
“We are taking extra steps in the course of improving the railway to protect these special species and help them to continue to thrive on the railway before and after our work. Our initiative is approved by Natural England and is also carefully designed so that it is harmless to the wildlife.”
With the help of an ecologist, Network Rail is using a night-vision camera to closely monitor a small badger sett that has been closed, so that they will not be harmed when work is being carried out in the area.
The roman snails, which are also known as escargots, have been found along the railway cutting around Charlbury. Work started last year to relocate them to a nearby spot during the warmer months to avoid coinciding with their hibernation period during winter.
Around 15 great crested newts were found in two ponds close to the work site and were found to use a railway concrete trough route as their home. An amphibian fence was installed during breeding season when the newts moved out of their habitat into the pond.
This fence will protect the newts as the trough route is upgraded as part of the improvement work. The fencing will be removed to allow these newts to return once the work is completed before the hibernation season begins.
Notes to editors
- All the conservation work has been approved and licensed by Natural England
- Badgers: They are protected under the Badger Protection act (1992) which protects them from persecution and cruelty and the act also outlaws the cruel blood sport of badger baiting. An outlying badger sett was found and they are much smaller in scale and commonly used by lone male badgers intermittently. The badger sett was closed outside breeding season to encourage them to resettle elsewhere.
- Roman snails: They were introduced into the Britain by the Romans as food. They remain in many parts of Europe (such as France and Italy) as a gastronomic delicacy today. Unfortunately this has lead to over collection and over exploitation of wild populations of this snail. The Roman snail is now endangered throughout its European range and has been given protection only since the changes to schedule 5 of the wildlife and countryside Act (1981) in 2008.
- Great crested newts: Newts have full protection under European laws and the Wildife and countryside Act (1981). While we commonly find them in Britain and on the rail network, they remain rare in other parts of the world.
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