Street care and cleaning Reporting wild flower rich roadside verges

Verge protection - the importance of our verges

Shropshire is valued for its beautiful countryside and wealth of wildlife. This precious 'biodiversity' is in great need of careful protection and constant management - common species such as bees and other pollinating insects, and wild flowers such as cowslips, have declined dramatically over recent years.

Biodiversity ‘corridors’ such as roadside verges are vital links to allow wildlife to move freely between fragmented habitats. Some of the best are even protected as local wildlife sites or sites of special scientific interest. Plantlife is running a campaign highlighting the need to protect these areas.

How can you help?

With over 5,000 kilometres of roads, cycleways, footpaths and verges in Shropshire, it's not possible for us to inspect the entire network all of the time.

If you feel there's a verge that needs protecting, please let us know by sending us as much information as you can to ecology@shropshire.gov.uk. Please describe carefully where the verge is located; ideally providing us with the grid reference at the start and end of the verge.

We would also need a description of why the verge is important. For example, what plants or other wildlife is found there. Photographs would also help.

The next step

We'll find the location of your verge and update our map-based records. The information provided about the verge will be assessed and, where safe to do so, we'll ensure the verge is managed appropriately using the guidelines provided by Plantlife.

Please note that there are many logistical challenges involved with managing particular areas of verge within the wider network. Every effort is made to ensure that our staff and contractors adhere to these specific maintenance requirements where possible  However, road traffic and pedestrian safety must be prioritised at all times and may lead to areas requiring more thorough works outside of the specified environmental interest requirements.

Safety

The roadside is a hazardous environment, and any observations that you make are at your own risk. Please ensure that you're not putting yourself in danger whilst observing roadside plants.