Highways Agency

• A3 Hindhead Improvement

A3 Hindhead Improvement

Woodland Clearance and Dormice Update

Where we were in dormouse territory we used methods to clear the trees and bushes which encouraged the dormice to move into areas of similar habit nearby. In January and February 2007 we cleared dormouse habitat in no more than 50 metre wide strips which represents half the usual dormice foraging distance. We also installed 7 temporary dormice bridges to help them escape from isolated areas of trees left on the site.

During the winter dormice hibernate in hollows at the base of trees. To avoid disturbing them we fell the trees so as to leave a good stump.

In areas where the ground had to be disturbed before June we carried out hand searches for dormice.

Where we found hibernating dormice they were taken (by a licensed handler) straight to an adjacent area of similar habitat and to a similar hibernating place. We moved five dormice in this way.

Once the dormice had come out of hibernation in June and moved into nearby woodland we removed the remaining tree stumps.

New dormouse nest boxes have been placed in nearby areas of suitable woodland habitat. Fifty dormouse boxes have been put up in Boundless valley and fifty in Tyndalls Wood. A survey of these boxes was undertaken towards the end of May. Dormice were found in nine boxes.

The final stage of tree felling took place in September and October 2007 after the young dormice left the nest and became independent, but before hibernation began.

Reptiles Update

Four species of reptile have been found in Boundless valley; the Common lizard, Adder, Grass Snake and Slow-worm. Three areas within the Copse were fenced off, vegetation strimmed and the reptiles found moved to National Trust land at Highcombe Edge or in the case of the Grass snakes to Hurthill Copse within Forest Enterprise land, which has more suitable prey for this species.

Adder

Dormouse

Slow-Worm

Common Lizard

Strimming of vegetation within the rest of Boundless Valley has been carried out to ensure the reptiles move out of the area to be cleared for the construction works and into adjacent habitat.

While we were installing services along BOAT 500 we found that adders were dropping into the trench overnight. We laid wooden planks in the trenches to help them escape but it was necessary to move them by hand at the start of each day.

Adders are venomous as well as being a protected species, and so only trained personnel could handle them. Although adders can be a Health and Safety Risk, if they sense human activity they tend to move away. An adder's venom should pose little danger to a healthy adult human, but the bite is very painful and requires urgent medical attention.

Ecological Surveys

Most of our ecological survey work was carried out during the spring and summer of 2003.

They included surveys of wintering birds, deer movements in the portal areas, bat roost locations, invertebrates, great crested newts, breeding birds, badgers and reptiles. An ecologist also visited borehole locations in ecologically sensitive areas, and every effort was made to ensure that any environmental damage was limited. Ongoing work includes surveys of, at various times, invertebrates, great crested newts, breeding birds, badgers and reptiles.

All work in the SSSI has been approved by English Nature and there is ongoing consultation with interested parties on how best to protect deer and reptiles along the line of the route.

Details of the surveys carried out can be found in the Environmental Statement May 2004.

A Wilder Perspective

The aim of the design, planning and execution of the road works is to enhance heathland and woodland habitat for a wide range of species. Most importantly the scheme will re-unite the two severed halves of the Devil's Punchbowl Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). This will mean that the species within the nature reserve will be able to migrate far more freely from one part to another and the re-united habitat will be far more viable. In addition new heathland habitat will be created and this is important since over 80% of lowland heath in Britain has been lost in modern times.

Nightjar, Dartford warbler, Wood lark

These are the specially protected species for which the Devil's Punchbowl is famous. None of their existing habitat will be lost to the scheme. Their habitat will be further improved by the removal of the old A3 which will no longer sever the heathland system. Engineering operations close to bird nesting habitat will not take place during the breeding season; this will also benefit the abundant woodland birds on other parts of the site. These include some locally uncommon species such as firecrest and crossbill.

Dormice

These are fairly abundant in old woodland especially associated with hazel notably in the vicinity of Boundless Copse. We are still surveying for them, largely by putting up nest boxes and observing the degree of occupancy. As many as twenty were observed on a single day. Our strategy is to translocate them from impacted areas, principally by providing adjacent habitat into which they can migrate but also by capturing and moving them when necessary.

Badger

Detailed survey for these abundant animals is ongoing. Those with setts near to the proposed works will be relocated in advance by luring them to new purpose built setts.

Deer

There are a large number of deer, especially roe deer and muntjac which can cause accidents when they cross the road at night. As a result deer fencing will be erected beside the new road at key locations.

Reptiles and Amphibians

All British reptiles are protected and the site contains large numbers of adder, common lizard, grass snake and slow worm. Existing survey work is continuing and reptiles will be captured and transported away from the engineering operations in advance of the works. The survey is carried out by laying out pieces of matting under which they like to crawl.

Bats

Bats roost in trees and old buildings and a survey has been completed.

In general, the number and diversity of bats present along the scheme was quite low, with six species recorded: Common Pipistrelle, Nathusius Pipistrelle, Serotine, Noctule, Brown Long-eared and Myotis. (Ref – 11.3.201 Environmental Statement, Volume 1)

Water Resources

The area has many springs in the Devils Punch Bowl and the western edge of Gibbet Hill which feed the streams of Begleys Copse, Smallbrook Stream, Nutcombe Stream and Haslemere Stream. These springs are known to generally possess very good quality water. The sandstone and clay units forming Gibbet Hill make up a major aquifer unit that provides a good quality water supply to the public and private water wells in the area. The tunnel will be constructed in the same rocks that make up the aquifer (the Hythe Beds) - but it is anticipated that the tunnel will be above the maximum recorded water table in the area. This means that there should be no direct impact on the groundwater during construction. If it is deemed necessary to carry out limited dewatering then this will be designed and programmed to have minimal impact on water supplies.

Great care is being taken during the design phase to ensure that all materials used in the construction of the tunnel are acceptable to the key stakeholders, including the Environment Agency and South East Water. Monitoring is currently being undertaken to enable drainage designs to be developed that ensure surface and groundwater quality is not compromised by the new road. This will include the provision of containment measures to deal with the possibility that spillages could be released during any future incidents on the new road. The new drainage system will be required to meet modern standards in their discharge and so will represent a significant improvement on the current A3 road drainage around the Devils Punch Bowl.

Landscape

The major landscape gain will be the removal of the old A3 from the Devil's Punchbowl within the heart of the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Another major gain will be the removal of through traffic from the centre of Hindhead. Extensive woodland planting and heathland recreation will take place. Initial landscape proposals have been drawn up and address the following principles:

• Mitigation of visual impact through integrated landscape/engineering design of new roads, road intersections and portals.
• Preservation of strategic views and of the quality of the local landscape.
• Design of new landscaping to ensure that its future long-term management is viable.
• Appropriate design to reinforce local landscape character.

See further details of the landscaping plan in the Environmental Statement May 2004

Archaeology

Update

After clearing the site of trees and scrub our archaeologists had an opportunity to search for items of interest. Finds so far include three limekilns. Two of the kilns on the route of the Boundless to Thursley Link Road. Were excavated because they were in the way.  A detailed archaeological record was taken.

This type of kiln would have been common in the area in the 18th and 19th centuries although little evidence has survived to the present day.

The kilns would probably have been fed with limestone or chalk from the nearest available sources (such as Petersfield, 25km to the southwest) and fuelled with coppiced wood, likely to have been sourced from the adjacent Boundless Copse.

The lime produced by these kilns would have had a wide range of domestic and agricultural uses, but the main use would have been as an alkali soil conditioner to counteract the acidic nature of the arable land fringing the heathland in the area.

Archaeological Survey

A survey of archaeology within areas impacted by the scheme was undertaken. The area is not outstandingly rich in archaeology but there was relatively little known about it. The survey, which consisted of initial assessment of known information followed by site investigation, therefore improved our understanding of the site.

Main features observed included:

• A few Neolithic flints unearthed many years ago;
• Medieval track ways and hollow ways near Nutcombe Valley;
• An extensive earth boundary bank supporting mature beech trees and associated with adjacent tracks near the northern portal. This is the most visible archaeological feature near the scheme but very little of it will be impacted by the proposals. It is probably no more recent than the seventeenth or eighteenth century but some sections may be earlier;
• the remains of at least one lime kiln near Boundless Road. These are not visible above ground. They probably date to between 1800 and 1850 and are associated with lime burning which took place in order to improve the fertility of the acid soil.

Noise, Dust and Vibration

The main noise issues relate to traffic noise generated by the completed scheme and noise impact created during construction. A major benefit will be the removal of the A3 from the Devil's Punchbowl and its replacement by a tunnel. This should effectively halve the noise in that area and so restore tranquillity to the beauty spot. Noise surveys have been undertaken at several key locations along the route and monitoring of noise, vibration and dust will continue during the life of the project.

Major mitigations will be:

Long Term Impact

In addition to the removal of the old A3 traffic, the noise from the new roads at either end of the portals will be substantially reduced by the use of quiet road surfacing together with substantial barriers and bunds.

Construction Impact

Studies have concluded that it is unlikely that there will be any noticeable impact from the tunnel working, due to the depth of the tunnel. If the scheme proceeds the Team will apply to Waverley District Council for a section 61 order to work at night within the tunnel. Elsewhere no night working will take place and all noise will be reduced to a minimum.

Work on the tunnel will begin at the northern end, and excavated spoil will be carried northwards along the line of the new road. Major excavations south of the tunnel will only begin when spoil can be hauled northwards through the tunnel. Deliveries to the site would be via A roads only

Sustainability

The design of the new road is being developed so that minimal amounts of material will be brought into the site or removed from it.

Through careful planning, suitable excavated material, generated from site, will be used within other areas of the works rather than being removed for off-site disposal. Retaining the site-won material within the site boundaries will considerably reduce the potential impact of large vehicles importing needed material or exporting excess material.

All timber from tree felling was reused.  The larger trunks were used for timber, smaller trunks and branches were chipped and sent to a biofuel plant at slough ,and the roots were ground up and mixed with the topsoil.  A few very tall trees went to Germany for ships masts.

Environmental Statement

An Environmental Statement was published on 24 October 2003 and then re-published in May 2004 to reflect amendments to the scheme made as a result of representations received to the Scheme published in October 2004. The document thoroughly assesses all the benefits and adverse impacts of the scheme, both during construction and on completion, and is a legal requirement under the EU Directive on Environmental Assessment.

Topics covered in detail include planning, land use, noise, air quality, water, ecology, archaeology, landscape constraints, recreation and business impacts.

The Environmental Statement is in three parts:

• A3 Hindhead Environmental Statement - May 2004 - Volume 1
• A3 Hindhead Environmental Statement - May 2004 - Volume 2
• Explanation of the Scheme and Non Technical Summary (529KB PDF)

Because of the size of Volumes 1 and 2 they are available only on a CD Rom which can be obtained by sending an E-mail to A3Hindhead@highways.gsi.gov.uk. There is an administrative cost of £5.