On Monday January 18, Bath & North East Somerset Council will begin work to improve the ecological habitat on the railway path between Radstock and Kilmersdon.
The work is expected to take around 10 weeks. The railway path will remain open throughout the work, although there will be occasions when short sections have to be closed for a few minutes.
This former industrial land was once dominated by scrub and grassland and home to reptiles, invertebrates and small mammals.
Since the closure of the railway, it has been taken over by immature ash, sycamore and willow.
Much of this will be removed by specialists in order to restore the diverse grassland and scrub; increase light levels on the ground, and encourage a wide range of flowering plants.
This will also produce impressive views across the valley and, in time, create attractive meadows. Work to mature trees will be limited to thinning and raising canopies.
This will help secure the future population of slow-worms and common lizards, colonies of rare flowering plants including Bithynian vetch, large-toothed hawkweed and fine-leaved sandwort, and a diversity of invertebrate species including mining bees, butterflies and damselflies.
The environmental improvement work is being carried out to compensate for the loss of some scrub and grassland as part of the Heritage Park Development in Radstock.
Planning permission required that environmental mitigation takes place, which will in the longer term, benefit the local ecological habitat.
Councillor Patrick Anketell-Jones (Conservative, Lansdown), Cabinet Member for Economic Development, said: “The Council is working in partnership with Linden Homes to help regenerate Radstock and deliver much-needed new homes, and, at the same time, protect the local environmental habitat.
“We expect, given time, this former industrial land will host a flourishing array of plants and wildlife.”
The work will be carried out by the Council’s Parks & Open Spaces team working with Clarkson & Woods ecologists.
