Road verge nature reserves

Road verge nature reserves (RVNRs) are the most biodiverse parts of the green network of verges running alongside roads in the countryside. They connect up the countryside and allow wildlife to move through what can be an inhospitable landscape.

There are approximately 30 RVNRs in Oxfordshire which are managed by our Highways & Transport team. RVNRs are usually wide road verges with long grass to enhance biodiversity by providing habitat for flowers and insects. RVNRs may also contain other valuable habitats such as wet ditches, drier grassland at the edge of the road and species-rich hedgerows.

What makes RVNRs so special

The underlying geology and low-nutrient soils of these areas results in the growth of unusual and specialised grasses and flowers. The long grass allows insects (such as bees and butterflies) and reptiles (such as grass snakes and slow worms) to breed in the spring and hibernate in the winter. The flowers produce nectar and pollen to feed butterflies and bees which then attract birds and bats.

You can find out more about the location of Oxfordshire’s RVNRs and descriptions of their biodiversity interest by contacting the Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre (TVERC).

How they are managed

RVNRs are marked with posts so that contractors know to only cut the grass at the end of the summer (September/October). This allows the plants to flower and drop their seeds onto the ground so they can grow into new flowers the following year. RVNRs are cut every year to prevent hedgerow species (such as hawthorn) growing on the verge and shading out the grasses and flowers.

How you can help

We do not have the resources to remove grass cuttings from RVNRs. This results in more nutrients in the soil which encourages more common and unwanted plants such as nettles, thistles and docks to grow on the verges. These common plants out-compete the rare flowers by taking up space, nutrients, light and water.

If you have a local conservation group in your parish and you have suitable equipment (high visibility clothing) and insurance (£10 million public liability), you can help conserve these valuable habitats by raking up the cuttings a few days after we have cut the verge. Waiting a few days allows the cuttings to dry out a little so the seeds fall onto the soil when you rake up the cuttings. The cuttings can either be left in piles on the site, where they will be habitat for insects and reptiles or you could take them off the verge and compost them.

If you have an RVNR in your parish and you would like to help manage it, email your Local Highways Representative or call them on 0845 310 11 11.

For guidance on how your parish can write a Parish Conservation Plan and help conserve wildlife in general, go to the Oxfordshire Nature Conservation Forum (ONCF) website or email Cynth Napper or call her on 01865 407034.

How to designate a new RVNR

New RVNRs can be designated if they have enough rare plant species to be classified as UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) priority habitat or have species of plants listed in Schedule 8 of the Wildlife & Countryside Act or the Oxfordshire Rare Plants register.

If you think a road verge meets these criteria, send a map of the verge with the results of a botanical survey to the Ecologist Planner. If there is sufficient botanical evidence for the road verge to be designated, the Ecologist Planner will alert the Local Highways Representative. If they agree that there are no issues from a highway safety point of view, they will arrange for posts to be installed and ensure appropriate management takes place.