Roadside verges
Grassy roadside verges may be associated with other features, such a hedgerows, ditches, dry stone walls and old trees. Motorways, bypasses and main trunk roads usually have wide verges and banks, often with young trees, the result of tree planting programmes carried out over the past 40 years. In most cases roadside verge areas consist of closely mown, single sward grasslands. However, some roadside verges have remnants of un-improved species rich grasslands and have the potential to be very diverse habitats for wildlife with changes in management resulting in less intensive mowing regimes.
There are currently approximately 207,000ha of roadside in the UK, with an estimated 2% managed for their wildlife interest.
In the Tees Valley, there are four roadside verges in Stockton that have the status of Site of Nature Conservation Importance (SNCI). In Hartlepool, there are two verges that are remnants of species-rich magnesium grassland, and there are likely to be verges rich for wildflowers in the Redcar and Cleveland District that have yet to be documented.
