Thursley Junction A3 – new slip road: BALI Special Award for Nature Conservation

The brief

A new slip road, impacting the Thursley National Nature Reserve, Specially Protected Area and Special Area of Conservation was proposed and land take required ecological consultancy input to identify constraints and opportunities, prior to, during and post construction.

What did we do?

MKA Ecology undertook preliminary protected species surveys and designed the mitigation strategy for the project. The strategy was complex and included retention of heather banks, protection of reptile populations during construction, habitat improvements, construction of hibernacula and a habitat management plan. MKA Ecology successfully applied for licences to exclude badgers from two outlier setts and supervised the construction of badger tunnels under the new road. Tree loss was mitigated by the installation of bat boxes.

Monitoring of the effect of the development and the mitigation measures was to be monitored for five years post construction.

What was the outcome for the client?

Efficient and effective delivery of our multi-disciplinary services, combined with creative solutions and our hands-on approach, meant that the client could factor ecological requirements into the project master plans. This minimised delay and cost, while enabling sustainable development. The scheme was recognised for its conservation merit when MKA Ecology were awarded the BALI Special Award for Nature Conservation.