Road Verge Nature Reserves (RVNRs) are verges in Oxfordshire that have been locally designated for being rich in biodiversity, including a number of scarce and threatened plants and habitats. RVNRs provide connectivity between wildlife areas, helping maintain and restore a green network through which wildlife can move and survive. Green verges provide a vital link between otherwise inhospitable and fragmented landscapes, providing benefits for wildlife and people.
There are currently 52 designated RVNRs in Oxfordshire, holding populations of locally or nationally rare plant species, such as autumn crocus and meadow clary. The verges are protecting valuable remnants of chalk and limestone grassland in the Cotswolds and Chilterns National Landscapes.
Each verge has its own specific proposed management regime developed to benefit the special wildlife of that verge. Due to logistical and financial limitations a total of 10 RVNRs are currently under full active management with the remaining to verges to be added incrementally.
Verges are monitored regularly through a survey visit every 5 years to ensure that their wildlife value is being maintained or enhanced and to inform the proposed management plan as necessary. The option to remove designation is reserved for sites that no longer meet the designation criteria after 10 years of active management.
Road verges can be rich in biodiversity and have many benefits for people and wildlife. Verges can be very aesthetically attractive and show OCC’s commitment to caring for the local environments of our residents and our responsibilities for the protection and enhancement of biodiversity.
RVNRs are part of Oxfordshire County Council’s legal commitment to conserve and enhance biodiversity. Section 40(1) of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 states: ‘Every public authority must, in exercising its functions, have regard, so far as is consistent with proper exercise of those functions, to the purpose of conserving biodiversity’. This duty has been strengthened through the Environment Act 2021.
RVNRs are often given a high value by local communities, with residents wanting to volunteer to carry out ecological monitoring and some management activities. There has been increased national interest in the value of wildflowers for pollinators and road verges as refuges for rare plant species.
New RVNRs can be proposed at any time by visiting Taking action for the environment | Oxfordshire County Council and completing the online form. Each proposal will be assessed against the designation criteria and assigned appropriate site-specific management as practical and required. Details including a map of the proposed area and photos should be provided where possible.
The current RVNR report is updated regularly and be viewed here: Road Verge Nature Reserves in Oxfordshire.
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Jack Wheeler
Senior Biodiversity Officer, Oxfordshire County Council
jack.wheeler@oxfordshire.gov.uk
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