A new report from Transport for London ( TfL) highlights London councils’ work to create space for nature across almost 1,500 hectares of roadside verges – an area more than 1.5 times the size of Richmond Park.
Lambeth Bee Roads
In Lambeth, the report features the Lambeth Bee Roads scheme – creating roadside wildflower corridors for bees, butterflies, and other insect pollinators.
Word from the Cabinet
Cllr Rezina Chowdhury, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Sustainable Lambeth and Clean Air, said: “Lambeth Council shares residents’ commitment to tackling the climate crisis. We’ve worked together to transform grass verges into pollinator-friendly spaces and built up a network of meadowland wildlife habitats as big as 140 tennis courts. With 40% of pollinating insects at risk, Lambeth Bee Roads are a vital part of improving biodiversity.”
Wildflower plantingLambeth’s Bee Roads combine relaxed mowing and intensive action. In areas where the local community and residents agree, we now cut verges just twice a year, allowing grass and wildflowers to flourish.
Intensive action includes removing turf and re-seeding with wildflower mixes tailored to low-fertility soils and selected to withstand dry conditions and maintain species diversity. Marker posts with QR codes link to Bee Roads information online. The old turf is moved into woodland areas or eroded spaces managed by Lambeth Parks.
Working with wildlife partners
Bee-friendly flowers at the roadside
Local volunteers including schools and wildlife groups help maintain the verges, including picking up litter and monitoring species and the impact on biodiversity.
The Bee Roads scheme was grant-funded by the Mayor of London’s Green & Resilient Spaces fund. Lambeth is now looking for new opportunities to fund further urban green spaces.
Lambeth collaborates with Butterfly Conservation and London Wildlife Trust to promote pollinator-friendly spaces and trials for sustainable drainage and rain gardens (both designed to reduce flood risk).
Biodiversity success stories
Reclaiming roadsides for nature
Of the 724 plant species on UK road verges, 91 are threatened or near-threatened, and UK biodiversity has decreased by 4.3 percentage points since 1970. But the Managing Road Verges for Wildflowers report showcases successes like wild orchids found growing for the first time in decades in roadside meadows, and London’s butterfly numbers staying stable instead of declining like elsewhere in the UK.
Initiatives like Lambeth Bee Roads can help reverse the worldwide decline in biodiversity and bring benefits to our city like reducing flood risks, cooling the air, and providing easier access to nature for people’s wellbeing.
More information
- Read or download a copy of Managing Road Verges for Wildflowers
- See more on Lambeth Bee Roads online
- See the feature on Lambeth’s Bee Roads in the TFL Report launch video on YouTube
