A391 Route Corridors Ecological and Bat Surveys
2002 - 2005
Client
Cornwall County Council
Services
Cornwall County Council (CCC) proposes to build a new road from St Austell to Innis Downs. Cornwall Environmental Consultants were commissioned to prepare the ecology chapter of the Stage 1 and 2 Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA).
These assessments were carried out in accordance to the guidelines contained in the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges: Volume II (DoT, 1993). Stage 1 involved a desk-based information gathering process for a wide geographical area to inform the design of eight possible road route options. In the Stage 2 assessment, the ecological impacts of the eight route options were assessed following extended Phase 1 habitat surveys. The aim of the Stage 2 ecological assessment was to 'undertake sufficient assessment to identify the nature conservation factors, and the significance of effects upon them, to be taken into account by CCC in developing and refining route options' (DoT, 1993).
A 'preferred route' was identified following the Stage 2 assessments. Cornwall Environmental Consultants was commissioned by Mouchel Parkman to carry out detailed ecological surveys to inform the EIA for this preferred route. This included detailed bat surveys and the preparation of a bat impact assessment with recommendations for mitigation, and NVC surveys of areas of semi-natural habitat to be affected by the proposed development.
