Types of designated verge
Roadside verges can provide a home for many important species of wildflowers, insects and other animals.
Nationwide, there are around 200,000ha of rural road verge which currently support over 700 species of wild flowers, including 87 threatened with extinction.
Both rural and urban verges can often be the last areas of declining habitats, such as woodland edges, ditches, meadows and downland, and provide important wildlife corridors, as well as being a haven for pollinators such as bees.
One of our verges contains 68% of the UK population of Spiked Rampion, protected under Schedule 8 of the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act.
There are two types of designated verge in East Sussex. Wildlife Verges and Meadow Verges.
Within East Sussex we have 176 locations which are designated Verges which we manage for the special wildlife they support, and to help us comply with our legal duties to conserve and enhance biodiversity, as set out in the 2006 Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act.
Wildlife verges
Wildlife verges are selected from designation criteria to ensure that we carry out the correct management for the species present and that we are spending money on cutting collection only where it is necessary and matters most.
Applying for a Wildlife Verge
We ask that you take time to carry out an in-depth survey of the verge and list all species present. Information on surveying can be found here. If you have trouble identifying the plant species, there are apps and books that can help, or get in touch with a local wildlife or environmental group, to see if they can help. The application window of the 1st of June to the 31st of August is there to provide the best time frame to identify flowering species.
Unfortunately we will not be able to accept applications for wildlife verges that do not give details of species present. Please be as thorough as possible with your application to avoid disappointment.
Meadow verges
Should you wish to see a local verge flourish that currently is not likely to be designated a wildlife verge due to not being very species rich; please consider applying for it to become a Meadow Verge, which will only be cut once, later in the autumn when all grasses and flowers present will have flowered and set seed. The cuttings from Meadow Verges, will not be collected
Can you plant flowers in verges?
We do not have the resource to plant or seed all the verges. We do work closely with volunteer groups to allow them to seed and plant flowers in some of our verges.
However, planting or seeding non-native species can have the opposite effect than intended in designating a wildlife or meadow verge, by overwhelming native species and not allowing them to grow.
Verges do not have to have flowers to provide benefits. Simply reducing mowing can have enormous benefits for wildlife. Long grass alone can provide habitat which supports insects which in turn benefit other animals and birds. Many butterflies lay their eggs on grasses for example.
Further information on verge management for wildlife can be found on the charity, Plantlife's website: Plantlife’s Good Verge Guide