Lugg Meadows Access Road
Friday 26th October 2018
Grave concern over impact of access road at Lugg Meadow
The road is a visual scar on a traditional meadow landscape that has persisted for centuries. We are deeply concerned about the impact it will have on the adjacent Lugg and Hampton Meadows Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and the River Lugg Special Area of Conservation (SAC) as well as the loss of good quality meadow grassland along the route itself. The impact of the road on the few remaining pairs of breeding curlew on the adjacent meadow is also of serious concern. The curlew is one of our most rapidly declining breeding bird species showing a 46% decline across the UK from 1994-2010.
Herefordshire Wildlife Trust objected to the proposed road development in 2016 based on these concerns. We are therefore surprised and very disappointed that the statutory bodies have concluded such a significant development will not have a detrimental impact on the designated features of both the SSSI and SAC.
This development demonstrates the awful impacts road developments have on our natural environment. It is clear that the past proposal for an eastern route relief road would have had devastating impacts on the Lugg SSSI meadows and the River Lugg SAC had it ever come to fruition.
With further major road building schemes planned within the county, Herefordshire Wildlife Trust will expect statutory bodies to ensure that the county’s wildlife and species are properly protected and will work hard to hold them to account.
Andrew Nixon, Conservation Senior Manager, Herefordshire Wildlife Trust
Tagged with: Living Landscapes, Species