New Rule: Wildflowers Have to Grow Along Major Roads Now

Under a new initiative, all new large-scale road projects developed across the UK will have to be lined with native wildflower meadows, thus creating new habitats for pollinators like bees, bats and birds, and boosting biodiversity.

“Verges will look different under this approach. They’ll be a lot more natural looking. It wouldn’t just be ryegrass. It’s going to be more varied and colourful. And hopefully a lot more vibrant,” says Ben Hewlett, environmental adviser at Highways England which is behind the initiative. “It’s potentially hundreds of miles of new schemes. There’ll be all over the country and provide ecological connectivity across the network.”

This project follows the successful Weymouth Relief Road in Dorset which is now home to half of the butterflies in the UK. For the last ten years, or since the wildflowers were sown, portions of the verges have not been cut. Therefore, reduced costs are an added advantage. Eventually, the addition of wildflowers will be extended to existing roads.