Roadside Verges

2018 was the first year the Council’s new road verge cutting regime was put into action, with the aim of providing a road network which is safe for road users and pedestrians, but also managed as an important resource for wildlife.

Denbighshire’s verge network is an important resource for wildlife, and is home to many rare and important plant and animal species. This includes the Bithynian Vetch, which grows on a verge near Denbigh but is found nowhere else in Wales. The new policy will allow the Council to comply with national legislation and help us achieve the objectives set out in the environment section of our own Corporate Plan.

The Council created the new verge cutting policy in partnership with “Life on the Verge” (a Denbighshire based action group made up of local residents and wildlife experts who advocated for a verge cutting regime that protected wildlife). This new policy reduced verge cutting to twice a year, with an early and a late cut. This allows wildflowers enough time to grow and set seed, ensuring that they continue to survive on the verges. The flowers provide an important resource for pollinating insects such as bees and butterflies, many of which are in steep decline.

In addition, the new policy includes a special "Biodiversity Cut" which is currently undertaken in the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the community council area of Nantglyn.  The Biodiversity cut involves a single cut starting from the 1st of August each year.  This approach is expected to be even better for the plants and animals which live on the verges.

The new policy continues to put road safety as the number one priority, with visibility splays maintained at a much more frequent basis, whilst allowing areas which pose no safety issues to be managed for their conservation value.