DORMICE, bats, butterflies and wildflowers will benefit from a project to regenerate woodland and hedgerows at a BBOWT nature reserve.

A new pond will also be created at Moor Copse in Berkshire, providing a sanctuary for wildlife such as dragonflies and amphibians.

The £260,000 funding for the project has come from National Highways, as part of a new, nationwide project with The Wildlife Trusts.

The £6 million Network for Nature programme aims to improve habitat across England to benefit people, nature and wildlife, in areas where the environment has been impacted by activities from road building.

Moor Copse, a diverse riverside woodland on the banks of the River Pang, is directly adjacent to the busy M4 and suffers from pollution and noise from the road.

The forestry work being funded by National Highways will open up sunny woodland glades, where bluebells, wood anemones and primrose will flourish and butterflies such as white admirals and silver-washed fritillaries will feed.

The planting of new trees and hedgerows will benefit local dormouse and bat populations, while improved fencing and gates will also be installed to protect new growth from deer.

Nikki Robinson, Network for Nature Programme Manager for The Wildlife Trusts, said:

“We’re very pleased that National Highways is committed to Network for Nature, with a strategic approach to restoring nature and joining up vital places for wildlife to help counter the impacts of previous road building.

“Historic road building programmes have contributed to nature’s decline, fragmenting wild spaces and causing environmental pollution, and this programme will help Wildlife Trusts throughout England carry out important nature conservation work, and contribute to a national Nature Recovery Network, connecting town and countryside, and joining up vital places for wildlife, and promoting landscape scale connectivity.”

National Highways, the company responsible for England’s motorways and major A roads, has put nearly £6 million from its Environment and Wellbeing designated fund into the Network for Nature programme.

Overall, 26 biodiversity projects will aim to enhance, restore and create more than 1,700 acres (690 hectares) of woodlands, grasslands, peatlands and wetlands across every region of England, with 2 sitting in the South East of England.

Nicola Bell, South East Regional Director for National Highways, said:

“We’re committed to significantly improving biodiversity near our road network, and this investment in the South East underlines our commitment to reducing the impact of our roads on the environment and supporting biodiversity.

“At National Highways, our work goes beyond operating, maintaining and improving roads; we’re investing in the environment and communities surrounding our network, helping to unlock the creation and enhancement of habitats, and this is an example of the difference we can make with designated funding.

“We were delighted to partner with The Wildlife Trusts to realise these projects – a glowing example of how this funding can improve biodiversity near our roads.”