Ecological mitigation work, Hinkley Connection
Background
The Hinkley Connection project is a new high-voltage electricity connection between Bridgewater and Seabank near Avonmouth. The project is a significant investment in the region’s electricity network and will connect new sources of low carbon energy, including Hinkley Point C, EDF Energy’s new nuclear power station in Somerset, to homes and businesses.
J Murphy is installing 10.7km of underground 132-V cable between Nailsea and Portishead for National Grid as part of the Hinkley project C connection scheme.
Working closely with J Murphy and the RSK environmental management team, RSK’s habitat management team was contracted to carry out a wide variety of multispecies ecological mitigation work along the cable route.
Ecological mitigation work
The team:
- supplied, installed and maintained up to 4440m of semi-permanent amphibian fencing, 1335m of temporary amphibian fencing and 440 pitfall traps.
- undertook destructive search work on great crested newt habitats that involved removing all the hedgerows and stumps, bank reprofiling and searching small discrete areas of grassland
- undertook reptile mitigation work, including carrying out habitat manipulation on 18 ha of vegetation
- supplied and installed three pole-mounted and two tree mounted barn owl boxes
- temporarily closed 18 individual badger setts with 37 sett entrances and supplied and installed 740m2 of ground-proofing mesh
- undertook vegetation clearance, including felling 12 mature trees and clearing and processing 200m of hedgerow to facilitate a construction of new bell-mouth and site access.
Added value
A collaborative approach with the RSK environmental management team and J Murphy project team helped to ensure that all the ecological constraints were removed and discharged within a single ecological season, thereby helping to prevent costly delays.
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