HIGHWAYS England has been working with Cumbria Wildlife Trust as part of their new initiative which is said to have wide-reaching benefits for the environment and biodiversity.

The company has announced a step change in the way it improves roads, which will breathe new life and colour into the verges and land around the country’s motorways and major roads – a policy which will cover hundreds of miles in the second road investment period.

They are working with the Wildlife Trust in Cumbria to boost pollinator habitats alongside key A roads, including the A590 and A66, and the verges and embankments of the A303 Stonehenge scheme, recently given the green light by Government, will create a flower-rich, six-mile long butterfly highway and large areas of species-rich chalk grassland.

Highways England Environmental Advisor Ben Hewlett said: "Our new policy means we’ll create more biodiverse new grasslands as standard. And as 97 per cent of all species rich grasslands have been lost in the last century, it is great to think that our construction design standards could create substantial areas of biodiverse grasslands, stretching throughout England.

"This is another great example of how we are moving away from simply minimising the impact of our work on the environmental impacts towards actually improving the environment through our work.

"The increase in wildflowers and wider biodiversity should also provide some impressive visual displays, and help to connect people with nature and improve the wellbeing of millions of people using our roads every day."