In part two of a series of updates looking at specific elements of our efforts to mitigate the environmental impact of our work on the Shoreham Adur Tidal Walls Flood Defence Scheme, we take a look at the protection of reptiles through sensitive vegetation management.
Background to scheme
The Shoreham Adur Tidal Walls scheme is being carried out by Mackley, as part of Team Van Oord, working on behalf of the Environment Agency, Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership, Adur District Council and West Sussex County Council.
Once completed, the £31m project will significantly reduce flood risk to more than 2,300 properties in Shoreham and East Lancing, as well as protecting important local infrastructure including roads, the railway line and Shoreham Airport.
Working with the Environment Agency, Mott MacDonald and CH2M, we are committed to building the scheme efficiently and at the same time minimising the impact on the local wildlife. We are doing this by making sure our work does not impact any legally protected species, by monitoring for wildlife and creating habitats through landscaping.
Protection of reptiles – part two
In part one of this series, we looked at how we moved reptiles including common lizards, slow worms and grass snakes from some areas where work is being carried out to a specially created site on Mill Hill Nature Reserve.
In other work areas, reptiles were displaced to locations where there is suitable vegetation through a programme of sensitive, phased clearance of habitat within the working footprint of the scheme.
Areas where this approach has been implemented include alongside Old Shoreham Road between the railway line and the Toll Bridge, and behind the Adur Activity Centre and headquarters of the 3rd Shoreham Sea Scouts.
The vegetation in these areas was carefully disturbed using an excavator and the small number of reptiles identified through this process were moved to a receptor site next the airfield.
Next edition – protection of birds
In the next part of this series we will look at measures being taken to protect the sizeable bird population on the Shoreham site. This will be published week commencing 31 July.
18 July 2017
