Despite previous road reviews, nationally important wildlife habitats (Sites of Special Scientific Interest) are still threatened by road building. They include Gwent Levels [2] on the route of the M4 Relief Road, Chasewater Heath [3] on the route of the Birmingham Northern Relief Road and the Dorset Heaths [4] on the route of the A351 Sandford/Northport bypass. Altogether 47 trunk roads threaten 62 SSSIs and 27 local authority planned road schemes affect 32 SSSIs (one site is threatened by both kinds of scheme). A full list of roads and threatened sites is attached.

FOE is calling for new wildlife laws to give better protection for SSSIs and policies to cut traffic and the need for new roads.

Commenting, Matt Phillips, Habitats Campaigner for Friends of the Earth, said:

?Road building still threatens at least 93 SSSIs. It looks as if Britain's road programme is a kind of ?join the dots? exercise between wildlife sites. If Labour is serious about wildlife protection it must fulfill its promise to toughen protection for wildlife, and introduce new laws in the next Queen's Speech. And next month's transport White Paper must take decisive steps to cut traffic and reduce road building.?

NOTES TO EDITORS:
[1] FOE. (1998). Wildlife and Roads. FOE, London.
[2] SSSIs under threat include: Nash and Goldcliff, Redwick and Llandevenny, St Brides and Whitson
[3] River Blythe SSSI is also threatened
[4] SSSIs under threat include: Holton Heath, Morden Bog and Hyde Heath, Wareham Meadows and Sandford Heath

[5] Visit Friends of the Earth's Wildplaces! website for details of threatened/damaged SSSIs across Great Britain.

Birmingham Northern Relief Road
Chasewater Heaths (Staffordshire)
River Blythe (West Midlands)
A55 Bryngwran-Holyhead
Beddmanarch-Cymyran(Gwynedd)
A650 Bingley Relief Road
Bingley South Bog (West Yorkshire)
A5 Dunstable Eastern Bypass
Blows Down (Bedfordshire)
Houghton Regis Quarry(Bedfordshire)
A1 Redhouse-Ferrybridge
Brockadale (North Yorkshire)
A5 Halfway Bridge
Caeau Tyddyn Dicwm (Gwynedd)
A9 Logie Easter to Garrick Bridge
Calrossie (Highland)
A31 Poole Link Road
Canford Heath (Dorset)
Slop Bog and Uddens Heath(Dorset)
M8-M74 Fastlink (Red Route)
Carstairs Kames (Strathclyde)
Cranley Moss (Strathclyde)
M2 Widening (1-4)
Cobham Woods (Kent)
A259 Bexhill and Hastings Western Bypass
Combe Haven (East Sussex)
Marline Valley Woods (East Sussex)
Pevensey Levels (East Sussex)
The Deepings Bypass
Cross Drain (Lincolnshire)
A465 Dualling (Abergavenny to Hirwaun)
Cwm Clydach (Gwent)
Mynydd Llangatwg (Powys)
A2/A282 Dartford Crossing
Darenth Wood (Kent)
A470 Dolydd-Pont Yr Afanc
Fairy Glen Woods (Gwynedd)
A487 Porthmadog-Tremadog
Glaslyn Marshes (Gwynedd)
A830 Mallaig Improvement
Glen Beasdale (Highland)
A13 Widening
Globe Pit (Essex)
A30 Indian Queens Bypass
Goss and Tregoss Moors(Cornwall)
A470 Llanguri to Cwmbelan
Gwaun Bwlch Hafod-Y-Gog(Powys)
M4 Relief Road
Gwent Levels - Nash and Goldcliff
Redwick and Llandevenny
St.Brides (Gwent)
Whitson
A483 Improvements:
Esgairdraenllwyn
Gweunydd Esgairdraenllwyn(Powys)
A14 M (Dtp) Bar Hill, M1-A1 Link
Hemingford Grey Meadow (Cambridgeshire)
A120 Takely (Stansted to Braintree)
High Wood, Dunmow (Essex)
M66 Denton-Middleton Contracts 1&3
Hollinwood Branch Canal(Greater Manchester)
A453(T) Clifton Lane/Clifton Bypass
Holme Pit (Green Route)(Nottinghamshire)
Wilwell Cutting (modified Yellow Route)
A34 Newbury Bypass [under construction]
Kennet and Lambourn Floodplain
River Kennet (Berkshire)
River Lambourn
A1M Widening (6-8)
Knebworth Woods (North Hertfordshire)
A470 Builth Wells Bypass
Llanelwedd Rocks (Powys)
A49/A465 Hereford Bypass
Lugg Meadows (Hereford &Worcester)
M55 to Norcross Link
Marton Mere, Blackpool(Lancashire)
M2-Iwade Improvement
Medway Estuary and Marshes(Kent)
The Swale (Kent)
A27 Lewes-Polegate scemes
Milton Gate Marsh (East Sussex)
M6 Widening (16-19)
Oakhangar Moss (Cheshire)
M1 Widening (21-23A)
Narborough Bog (Leicestershire)
Oakley Wood (Leicestershire)
A31 Poole Harbour Crossing
Poole Harbour (Dorset)
M42 Widening (3A-7)
River Blythe (West Midlands)
A43 Geddington Bypass
River Ise and Meadows(Northamptonshire)
A2/M2 Cobham Widening (1-4)
Shorne and Ashenbank Woods(Kent)
A458 Welshpool to the English Border
Trewern Brook (Shropshire)
A5 Glyn Bends
Y Glyn-Diffwys (Clwyd)
In Welsh Office programs
Bishops Pond (Dyfed)
Brynmawr Sections (Gwent)
Cwm Taf Fechan Woodlands(Mid Glamorgan)
Ffair Fach Railway Cutting and River Section (Dyfed)
River Wye (Afon Gwy) (Powys)

Avon Ring Road (1992)
Bickley Wood (Avon)
MM4/M49 Second Severn Crossing (1997)
Gwent Levels - Magor and Undy (Gwent)Severn Estuary (Gwent)
A13 Thames Avenue-Wennington (1997)
Inner Thames Marshes (Greater London)
M3 Improvements (1993)
Itchen Valley (Winchester Meadows)
St Catherines Hill (Hampshire)
M25 Widening (10-11) (1995)
Ockham and Wisley Commons(Surrey)
M6 Preston Bypass Widening(30-32) (1995)
Red Scar and Tun Brook Woods(Lancashire)
M5 Widening (18-19) (1997)
Severn Estuary
A34 Newbury Bypass (1997)
Snelsmore Common (Berkshire)
M1-A1 Link Road (1992)
Southfield Farm Marsh(Northamptonshire)
Second M6 Viaduct (1994)
Woolston Eyes (Cheshire)

A836 Farr-Kirktomy
Armadale Gorge (Highland)
Christchurch Bypass
Avon Valley (Bickton-Christchurch) (Hampshire)
Town Common (Dorset)
Blackwater Valley Relief Road
Basingstoke Canal (Hampshire)
A351 Sandford/Northport Bypass
Black Hill (Holton)
Holton Heath
Morden Bog and Hyde Heath Wareham Meadows (Dorset)
Sandford Heath
Corfe Castle Bypass
Corfe Common (Dorset)
A93 (Craighill Section)
Craighill Gorge (Perth & Kinross)
A86 Criagbeg-Moy Lodge-Aberader-Kinlochlaggan
Creag Meagaidh (Highland)
C13/A350 Melbury Abbas upgrade and Bypass (Red route)
Fontmell and Melbury Downs(Dorset)
Luton Bypass Northern Route
Galley and Warden Hills(Bedfordshire)
A289 Medway Towns Northern Relief Road
Great Crabbles Wood (Kent)
Southern Distributer Road
Gwent Levels- St.Brides (Gwent)
B3072 West Moors Bypass
Holt and West Moors Heaths(Dorset)
Croydon Road/Baston Road Interchange Improvements
Keston and Hayes Common(Greater London)
A901 Lower Granton
Leith to Prestonpans (Lothian) A861 Drynie Hill
Loch Moidart (Highland)
A851 Broadford-Armadale
Loch Na Dal (Highland)
A354 Weymouth Relief Road
Lodmoor (Dorset)
Bournemouth International Airport to A338 Spur Road Link Road
Moors River (Dorset)
A15 Western Peripheral Road
Orton Pit (Cambridgeshire)
A44Aberystwyth Bypass
Rheidol Shingles and Backwaters (Dyfed)
A127 Southend/Rochford Bypass Dual Carriageway
River Crouch Marshes (Essex)
B4356 Monaughty-Gravel Arch
River Lugg (Hereford &Worcester)
Eastern Bay Link Road
Severn Estuary (South Glamorgan)
A848 Salen-Tobermory
Sound of Mull Cliffs (Strathclyde)
Southport Coastal Road Improvements [underway]
Southport Sand Dunes and Foreshore (Merseyside)
Kinson Relief Road
Turbary and Kinson Commons(Dorset)
A354 Portland Relief Road
Chesil and The Fleet (Dorset)

Bypass scheme (1992)
Birkham Wood (North Yorkshire)
Crawley Bypass (1992)
Buchan Hill Ponds (West Sussex)
A2070 Improvements (1993)
Ham Street Woods (Kent)
A41 King Langley Bypass(1994)
Roughdown Common(Hertfordshire)
Wainscott Northern Bypass(1997)
Shorne and Ashenbank Woods(Kent)

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