Our specialist team is providing environmental and ecological services for works on the Western Leg (W1-4) of the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) between Manchester and Leeds.
TRU is a multi-billion-pound transformative long-term railway infrastructure programme with the objective of improving connectivity in the North of England between Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds and York through track electrification as well as a suite of innovative solutions to avoid congestion.
Our ecology team is supporting the scheme by providing a wide range of surveys and reports. This includes ecology surveys and ecological reports to identify ecological constraints and avoidance measures throughout permitted development areas of the scheme (W1 and W4).
We are also providing a suite of surveys to inform the Transport of Work Act Order (TWAO) for the Huddersfield to Westtown (W3) section of the route, and are producing the ecology Environmental Statement chapter with associated technical appendices and representation of ecological expert witness at the public inquiry.
Elsewhere, our experts produced bat and badger draft mitigation licences for W3, resulting in the receipt of a ‘letter of comfort’ in advance of public inquiry. The surveys and the final mitigation licences are due for completion in 2022. In addition, we collected UK Habitat data and completed Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) assessments and associated reports for each section (W1- W4), collaborating with Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and the landscape architects to populate Metric Calculators.
We also supported the scheme by undertaking Ecological Clerk of Works (ECoW) services for vegetation clearance activities and ground investigation works to avoid breach of wildlife legislation including the review and modification of working methods and timing to avoid impacts on badger, great crested newt, bats, reptile and other ecological features.
Meanwhile, we are providing EcIA reports for a series of planning applications, and a range of input in the discharge of planning conditions including Landscape Ecological Management Plans (LEMPs) and Biodiversity Ecological Management Plans (BEMPs).
Finally, we are undertaking a suite of services to inform a second TWAO and ecology chapter for W2b, anticipated for completion end-2023.
Client: Network Rail / Atkins (SNC Lavalin)
