Highways Agency - Safe roads, Reliable journeys, Informed travellers
Towards a balance with nature - Highways Agency Environment Strategic Plan
Contents
- Foreword
- Introduction
- Background
- Monitoring Our Performance
- Procurement
- Working with People
- Biodiversity
- Air Emissions Management
- Noise Management
- Waste Management
- Water Management
- Landscape and Townscape
- Heritage
- Contact
Foreword
The A2 as it runs beside the sea on its approach to Dover.
Protecting the environment has always been a high priority for the Highways Agency. In 1996 we published our first Environmental Strategic Plan 'Living with Roads'. We are proud of our achievements in protecting and enhancing the environment, and this document demonstrates our ambition to do more.
In the light of the Government's Integrated Transport Policy White Paper and 'A New Deal for Trunk Roads in England', we have revisited our plan to consider how all our activities support the delivery of the environmental aims of integration in its widest sense. This has led us to review all our activities and to consider new areas.
Specifically in our redefined role as a network operator, our plan must consider a wider vision, not just 'living with roads', but working with others to pursue the best use of roads and the use of other non-road alternatives.
Of course we recognise that we cannot deliver our plan alone. Much must be achieved in partnership with the community. We look forward to working with all those with a shared ambition to protect and enhance the environment.
Peter Nutt
Chief Executive
Introduction
Our Environment plan has been developed within the framework of the Government's Integrated Transport Policy as set out in the White Paper 'A New Deal for Transport: Better for Everyone'.
The report of the roads review 'A New Deal for Trunk Roads in England' was published in July 1998.
It has identified three main Strategy and five Delivery areas for the Highways Agency in its Network Operator role. These are:
Strategy Areas
- Maintenance
- Operation
- Improvement
Delivery Areas
- Safety
- Environment
- Economy
- Accessibility
- Integration
Each area has its own Agency Strategy. There are obvious links between the eight areas and the Strategic Plans cross-refer where appropriate. Theses strategies are also linked to the Agency's other strategies on Route Management, Procurement and Performance Indicators.
The roads review also gave the Highways Agency a new strategic aim and new objective as a network operator.
The M40 Stokenchurch cutting (left) and the A646 in Lancashire, illustrate the variety of landscapes through which our roads pass.
The design of the Second Severn Crossing blends with the surrounding landscape and complements it.
Strategic Aim
"To contribute to sustainable development by maintaining, operating and improving the trunk road network in support of the Government's integrated transport and land use planning policies"
Specific Environmental Key Objective
"To minimise the impact of the trunk road network on both the natural and built environment"
It follows that safeguarding and enhancing the built and natural environment must be a key factor when we maintain and manage our trunk roads. This applies equally or more so when we need to plan and improve these roads. This document sets out our plan for achieving this.
This plan sets out the development of our performance monitoring together with the broad scope of our proposals to protect the environment. Detailed action programmes will be developed in support of the plan.
Environmental Planning and Reporting Cycle
Background
The A66 in Cumbria providing easy access to Bassenthwaite lake.
The Highways Agency makes an important contribution to the protection and enhancement of the environment through the proper management of the Trunk Road Network.
We have increasingly needed to respond to scientific and technical advances, along with growing public awareness, of the interactions between roads, traffic and the environment.
Our record in this respect has been a success because we have made a genuine attempt to understand the impact of roads on our environment and to find the most appropriate response.
However, with increased understanding comes a greater appreciation that there is still more that we can do.
In 1996 we published our first environmental plan called 'Living with Roads'. Now, we have published 'Towards a Balance with Nature' which provides the broad outline for the detailed action programmes.
The New Approach to Appraisal
In 'A New Deal for Trunk Roads in England', the Government set out details of a 'New Approach to Appraisal' (NATA). This aims to assess trunk road investment proposals against the Government's five criteria of accessibility, safety, economy, environment and integration.
As our detailed action programmes in support of this plan are developed, they will be tested as appropriate against the principles of the NATA.
The restored site of the old Winchester Bypass, Twyford Down.
The Role of the Environmental Committee
As we developed this plan we consulted the members of our Environmental Committee as well as carrying out wide-ranging consultation within Government.
The role of the Committee is to help us view our efforts from the point of view of official and non-governmental environmental organisations. The first meeting of the Committee was held in January 1999.
The 13 groups represented are:
- the Environment Agency;
- English Nature;
- English Heritage;
- Countryside Agency;
- National Air Quality Forum;
- Civic Trust;
- National Trust;
- Royal Town Planning Institute;
- RSPB;
- Association of National Park Authorities;
- Transport 2000 Trust;
- Friends Of The Earth and the Council For The Protection Of Rural England.
Regional Environmental Committees will soon be set up across the Agency regions to provide a formal channel of communication on a regional basis.
Monitoring Our Performance
Inspection of an innovative design of footbridge over the A50 near the Meir Tunnel.
Issue
To achieve our environmental Key Objective and support our Strategic Aim environmental considerations must become an integral part of our management systems.
Objective
To seek to extend and integrate our existing management systems governing new road schemes and maintenance, into all areas of our activity to provide a unified approach to environmental management.
Actions will include:
- Formulating our environmental objectives into plans and decision making processes in a systematic way.
- Reviewing all our activities so we have a better understanding of the impact of our work on the environment.
- Developing robust action programmes to deliver genuine environmental protection
and enhancement, ensuring that we have the commitment to deliver them. - Monitoring our performance, rigorously establishing meaningful goals and measuring performance towards these through performance indicators.
- Striving for continuous improvement.
Tracking our performance
The Agency is committed to developing a series of environmental performance indicators (PIs). When these are developed we will be able to monitor our performance over time and measure the effectiveness of our environmental management processes. We are committed to reporting our performance year on year in the Agency Annual Report. As PIs are developed they will be published in our Business Plans starting in 2000. The form of the PIs we use will be kept under review.
Targets for these programmes will be defined annually in our Business Plans while our Annual Reports will show how we have implemented the programmes together with our performance in meeting targets.
Procurement
Bird friendly pigeon scarers help reduce health hazards and maintenance work
Issue
In the 1998-99 financial year, the Agency invested around £1.4 billion in the trunk road and motorway network. This is done through contracts to procure materials and services. Consequently our overall environmental performance is in considerable measure affected by the materials we buy and the performance of our contractors.
Objective
To extend the integration of environmental considerations into our procurement decisions.
Actions will include:
- Drawing up specifications aiming to reduce the impact of our activities on the environment, whilst achieving value for money at all times.
- Making contractors aware that they must comply as far as possible with our environmental policy written into their conditions of contract.
- Formulating contracts which strike a balance between costs to the taxpayer and environmental benefits.
- Undertaking a study of our materials specification with a view towards sustainability and the environment.
Electronic systems monitor levels of carbon monoxide in tunnels and warn of any build up.
Asphalt road surfaces provide an economic solution to noise
Working with People
The Council for the Protection of Rural England praised the Agency's efforts to cut down pollution of the night sky on the M62 over Saddleworth Moor.
Issue
Only through broad cooperation across a broad range of views from interested organisations and individuals can the full benefits of our environmental plan and Government policy towards trunk roads and the environment be delivered.
Objective
To seek the involvement of all groups within local communities so we can understand wider transport issues and how our activities affect the environment in these communities.
Actions will include:
- Increasing environmental awareness among our staff and contractors.
- Seeking to facilitate partnerships to bring about environmental improvement and community ownership.
- Continuing to develop better relationships with other transport operators, government and non-governmental organisations and above all with the general public.
Gary Bacon of the Highways Agency meets a pupil and teacher from Thomas Tallis School, at an exhibition of the children's designs for the refurbishment of an underpass at Kidbrooke on the A2.
Biodiversity
A badger tunnel in Cumbria, one of a series which help reduce fatalities of these animals on our roads.
Issue
Although modern road design has been greatly improved, both new and existing roads can have serious implications for wildlife and nature conservation if care is not taken over route planning, construction, operation and maintenance.
Objective
To manage our network in a practical way which promotes the maintenance and enhancement of biodiversity - that is to say the variety of life. In particular we seek to manage our own estate so as to add to its existing value as a refuge and a linking feature for wildlife.
Actions will include:
- Developing a biodiversity action plan for the management of our soft estate - the land surrounding our network - founded on the Government's action plans to protect species and habitats.
- Working with English Nature and other partners on a programme of research to develop understanding of biodiversity in the context of highways management.
- Implementing a programme of engineering measures to protect wildlife from road traffic where highways cross their habitats e.g. otters.
Bathampton Meadows, created as part of the A4 Batheaston bypass, are an excellent example of biodiversity.
Air Emissions Management
A typical reduction of carbon monoxide emissions as a result of controlling speeds on the M25.
Issue
Recent advances in technology have delivered significant reductions in vehicle emissions. However, they continue to be an important factor in both local air quality and levels of greenhouse gases. Significant emissions, such as fine particles, can also arise from construction and maintenance activities.
Objective
To take practical steps to minimise emissions. This includes appropriate highway designs to influence vehicle operation plus controls on the performance of contractors. In addition we seek to encourage our partners in the vehicle and construction industries to play their part in reducing emissions.
Actions will include:
Working in partnership with Local Authorities towards the delivery of the National Air Quality Strategy. - Maintaining and supporting our guidance on air quality assessment, making available our air quality monitoring data via the internet.
- Working to develop and evaluate traffic control systems which reduce vehicle emissions.
- Working towards improved performance in emissions control during construction/maintenance activities.
Noise Management
Noise barriers on the M25 help reduce traffic noise to acceptable limits in residential area.
Issue
Traffic noise is a major concern for communities living close to our road network and tackling traffic noise is a high priority for the Agency. Noise from construction and maintenance work can also cause nuisance.
Objective
To take practical steps to minimise noise and disturbance. This includes providing appropriate highway designs and making more use of noise reducing technologies. The Agency will also aim to increase the awareness of contractors about the importance of this issue. In addition we will encourage our partners in the vehicle, tyre and construction industries to play their part.
Actions will include:
- Ensuring that the most appropriate noise reducing surfaces are used where noise is a particular concern whenever a road needs to be resurfaced.
- Specifying quieter surfaces as a matter of course where new roads are to be built or existing roads improved.
- Identifying sites for the provision of noise mitigation on existing roads.
- Researching tyre/road noise in partnership with vehicle standard authorities and the tyre industry.
- Working towards improved performance in noise control during construction/maintenance activities.
This graph shows how the change in surfacing will eliminate the noisiest trunk roads and reduce the average noise level at the hard shoulder of a typical motorway by three decibels.
Waste Management
A2/M2 woodland management where trees removed from the site are used for recycling.
Issue
The construction, maintenance and operation of the trunk road network consumes large quantities of resources. The Government's policy for sustainable construction highlights the need for the more effective use of these resources.
Objective
To develop techniques to ensure that the Trunk Road Network is managed in the most sustainable manner, conserving the existing resource, generating less waste and removing barriers that prevent or inhibit the use of secondary or waste materials.
Preferred options for minimisation of waste
Actions will include:
- Identifying where waste is being generated; to establish benchmarks for the quantity of waste produced in trunk road management.
- Conserving existing resources and reducing quantities of waste.
- Commissioning research aimed at prolonging the life of roads and other structures.
- Cooperating more closely with industry to identify barriers to the reuse or recycling of highway materials and to encourage the use of secondary and waste materials where practical.
- Amending technical specifications to encourage use of local and lower grade materials in highway construction as a means of reducing demand for new materials
Water Management
A balancing pond at Tebay, Cumbria, filters run-off water from the M6 and creates a wildlife habitat.
Issue
Water which runs off roads can adversely affect watercourses and groundwater. Spillage of loads and the use of pesticides/herbicides in highway maintenance pose additional threats. Roads can also influence the occurrence of local flooding.
Objective
To identify and implement practical steps to manage the drainage of our network; we aim to minimise the impact of traffic and of our maintenance operations on watercourses, groundwater and flooding.
Actions will include:
- Organising a research programme to develop understanding of highway runoff and its environmental impacts both on our own behalf and partnership with the Environment Agency.
- Developing new drainage systems to reduce the impact of highway runoff on the environment.
- Getting improved performance from contractors in pollution control during construction.
- Providing better information for the handling of road spillages to ensure that when they do occur drainage facilities are managed in the most effective way.
Landscape and Townscape
Roads in the Rural Landscape
The Agency and the Urban Forestry Unit have joined forces to promote the planting of trees to provide areas like this one at the M6 junction 7.
The much improved centre of Dalton-in-Furness on the A590, Cumbria after construction of the Bypass.
Issue
Trunk roads can dominate a rural landscape. Yet, for most of us our every day experience of the countryside is from roads. We must therefore consider the view of the road from adjacent areas and the view from the road from the traveller's perspective.
Objective
Our objective is to respect the landscape character and quality of an area when designing new roads or improving existing roads. We will seek to enhance the integration of our network into rural areas using a combination of sensitive road alignment, earthworks, the use of appropriate materials and planting to minimise the adverse effects of trunk road traffic on the countryside.
Actions will include:
- Including landscape management of the soft estate along our network in our route strategies to help achieve our landscape objectives ;
- Reviewing landscape assessment and design practice together with the Countryside Commission and other interested organisations to ensure that future projects meet the above objectives;
- Undertaking research on developing new advice about good practice in assessing the need for lighting. We will aim for better lighting design in sensitive areas;
- Reviewing landscaping guidelines and planting types so they are consistent and appropriate
to the locality for use across the network.
Facilities for cyclists and pedestrians on the A406 North Circular Road in London.
Roads in Urban Areas
Issue
The Agency recognises the need to improve the quality of trunk roads in urban landscapes. In 1995, we adopted a Landscape Strategy for London's trunk road network which identified landscape themes along roads to help conserve and enhance their local character.
Objective
Our strategy is to use a townscape plan for trunk roads in urban areas to enhance the townscape quality and minimise the adverse effects of trunk roads in urban areas.
Actions will include:
- Reviewing townscape assessment and urban design with national and local government and other interested organisations.
- Developing a townscape plan for all trunk roads in urban areas.
Heritage
Many fine old churches such as this one on the A428 in Turvey village, Bedfordshire, can be found along the Agency's roads.
Issue
Many trunk roads have developed from Roman roads and ancient trackways. Roads are a part of the historical fabric of this country. Trunk roads and traffic on both traditional and new routes can have a detrimental effect on the survival and setting of heritage features. Some road improvements, on the other hand, can enhance the setting of historical features. When investing in existing and new roads it is essential for us to be aware of both adverse and positive effects and to react appropriately to respect our heritage.
Objective
To ensure that in the planning and resourcing of trunk road projects there is an appropriate response to any adverse effects on the historic environment and that the historic fabric of our landscape is respected.
Actions will include:
- Reviewing with English Heritage and English Nature and other interested parties the Highways Agency's guidance on the treatment of heritage issues, (including geological heritage), within our network management activities.
- Establishing a database of current and previous cultural heritage studies by the Agency.
- Working with English Heritage and others in considering joint initiatives to protect and enhance the historic environment.
Part of the forelimb of an aurochs (extinct giant ox) found at archaeological excavations during the construction of the A13
Contact
The Agency welcomes comment on this Environmental Strategic Plan.
If you wish to raise any matters about this document please contact:
Simon Price
Head of Environment Policy
Highways Agency
Federated House
London Road
Dorking
RH4 1SZ
If you have an environmental issue whcich is specific to a location on the trunk road network please direct your enquiry to the appropriate Area or Route manager. Names of those staff can be found in the 'Contact Information' section on the Agency's website at:
Or contact the Highways Agency Information Line,
Phone 08457 50 40 30
Email ha_info@highways.gsi.gov.ukWho will pass on your enquiry to the appropriate person.