Transport for London has expanded its wildflower verges by the size of around 18 football pitches – 130,000m2 – a 50% increase in the last financial year.
This takes the total amount of rewilded space to 390,000m2 – the equivalent of around 52 football pitches. TfL is now well over halfway to reaching the goal set back in 2024 of doubling the total area to 520,000m2 of wildflower verges along its road network by 2026.
The newest sites range in size and include a verge along the A1 in Barnet (1,700km²), a central reserve on the A30 near Heathrow (2,900m²) and a large verge that backs onto woodland along the A312 in Hounslow (2,600m²). There are also some publicly accessible sites, so people can enjoy the green spaces, such as at Redbridge Roundabout via the pedestrian underpass and by a shared foot and cycle path alongside the A40 in Hillingdon.
Each site is selected based on a range of factors, including the suitability of converting the existing vegetation to wildflower meadows, easy access for cut and collect mowers, as well as proximity to residential houses and maintaining road safety.
TfL manages each site to promote biodiversity, reducing the number of times it mows down from around five to eight times a year down to, typically, twice a year. This allows the grasses and wildflowers more chance to grow. The extra flowers and taller grasses create a supply of nectar and other food, plus shelter for wildlife, including bees, butterflies, birds and small mammals. Wildflower verges bring additional benefits beyond London’s biodiversity, including the transfer of carbon dioxide from the air into the soil and reduced carbon emissions from mowing.
There have been promising results from TfL’s changed management of roadside verges – particularly at the more mature sites where the new mowing regime has been implemented for at least two years. As well as butterflies, other insects such as hoverflies, craneflies, grasshoppers, dragonflies, damselflies, beetles, and bees have been observed across the capital.
(Picture – TfL)
