BBC Wildlife - UK (2020-04)

Inthiscornerofthecounty,theblackthorn

removedwillhavetakenwithit theeggsof

blackandbrownhairstreakbutterflies,which

overwinteronbaretwigs.

Insidethereserve,Berkshire,

BuckinghamshireandOxfordshireWildlife

Trust(BBOWT)weresurprisedinDecember

whencontractorsforHS2hackeddown

treesthattheirconsultantshadidentified

aspotentialbatroosts.Butthefactthatthis

happenedbyaccident(HS2subsequently

apologisedto BBOWT)hasraisedconcerns.

Acceptingresponsibility

LuciRyanoftheWoodlandTrusthas

workedonHS2forfiveyears,appealing

forwoodlandtobesavedwithroute

tweaksandtunnels.NowthattheLondon-

Birminghambuildis underway,shesays

thetaskis to“holdHS2toaccount”and

ensurethatconstructionmatchespromises

andminimisesharmtowildlife.

RyanregularlymeetswithHS2ecologists

aspartofanecologicalworkinggroupthat

includestheNationalTrust,theForestry

CommissionandtheWildlifeTrusts.

Ryanspeakshighlyoftheline’secologists.

ButHS2is sucha vastoperation,with

somanysubcontractors,that“mistakes

willhappen,”shewarns.“Idon’twantto

implythattheywillbedeliberate.Mistakes

happenbecausethepersonontheground

doesn’tfullyunderstandwhat’sbeen

askedofthem.We’rea bitconcernedthat

there’sanelementof‘go,go,go’because

HS2is woefullybehindschedule.Theyare

desperatetogetcracking.Wecouldlosea

Thelargestsingletakeofancient

woodlandis relativelysmall:around

half– 5.5ha– ofWhitmoreWood,in

Staffordshire.OpponentsofHS2point

outthatancientwoodlandis irreplaceable;

if thisgovernmentprojectsuggestsit is

acceptabletodestroyfragments,it becomes

hardertoresistsimilardemandsbyroad-

orhouse-builders.HS2haspromisedto

undertaketheexpensive“translocation”

ofnineancientwoodlands– excavating

precioussoilsandplacingthemonnew

sitestoquickenthecreationofnew

woodlands.Seedsandbulbsofspecies

suchasbluebells,anancientwoodland

indicator,couldsurvivesuchtranslocation.

Phase1, fromLondontoBirmingham,

alsoincludesa £7mWoodlandFundfor

creatingnewwoodsandrestoringancient

woodlandsawayfromtheline.

Aquaticaccommodation

HS2hasalreadycreatednewhabitat,

includingnumerousgreatcrestednewt

pondsandareasofnewlyplantedsaplings.

AccordingtoHS2,itsLondon-Birmingham

stagewillprovide33km^2 ofnewandexisting

wildlifehabitat,anincreaseofabout 30 per

centontoday.

WhilecriticssaythatHS2willfragment

landscapes,hinderingthemovementof

speciessuchasbadgers,plansforthe

London-Birminghamlineinclude40km

oftunnel(muchofit throughtheChiltern

hills), 140 bridgesandunderpasses,and

16 ‘green’bridgesspecificallyforwildlife.

HS2is followingtheBTO’sguidance

onestablishingnewmeadowland

forbarnowlswellawayfromthe

trains,which

imperillow-flying

creaturessuchas

barnowlsandbats.“We’redelivering

anunprecedentedprogrammeoftree

plantingandhabitatcreationalongsidethe

newrailway,”saida spokesperson,“with

sevenmillionnewtreesandshrubstobe

plantedbetweenLondonandBirmingham,

nativewoodlandplantedtolinkupancient

woodland,andmitigationplansfor

protectedspecies.”

HS2is arguablyconsideringwildlife

morethananyotherpreviousmajor

development.Butis thatenough?Andwhat

is happeninginpractice,ontheground?

AsChrisBainesargued:“Payingattention

toseeminglysmalldetailsinthefinegrain

oflowlandEngland’slandscapewillbe

crucial”.Greenbridges,forinstance,must

bebuiltinoptimallocations,asdefinedby

localnaturalistswithknowledgeoffactors

suchastoadmigrationroutes.

IntheBuckinghamshirecountryside

aroundCalvertJubileeNature

Reserve,ancienthedgerowshave

beengrubbedupthiswinter

to makewayfornewaccessroads

andto movepylonsandgaspipelines.

Top:oneof7 million

nativetreesandshrubs

beinggrownatCrowders

nurserytocreatenew

woodlandalongside

theHS2raillink.Left:

brownhairstreakshave

lostbreedinghabitatin

Buckinghamshire.

Thetaskistoensurethat

constructionmatches

promisesandminimises

harmtowildlife.

Butterfly:

STay

or/A

amy;

oak:

HS2

Ltd;

bat:

EMedard/NPL;

barn

ow

:J

FSánchez/Getty;

crossb

:G

Cha

ker/Getty;

otter:

LHeus

nkve

d/Getty;

anemone:

JParker/Getty;

deer:

JWarw

ck/Getty;

ong-eared

ow

:L

Kng/Getty;

andscape:

DK

twood/Getty

NEWS FEATURE

34 BBC Wildlife April 2020