Backing biodiversity during emergency landslip repairs in Kent 

Our team undertook emergency landslip repairs at Bough Beech, near Edenbridge, which allowed passenger services to resume running between Sussex and Kent.

Holly van Driel, Sustainability Advisor, directed and informed the design and construction team on how to protect the local biodiversity that surrounded the works, with the site having an active badger sett nearby, alongside the potential for bats, dormice and reptiles.

Our ecologists held regular briefings with the team on the ecological risks, which helped increase awareness, with the active badger set our core focus. This also provided an opportunity to upskill the team on ecology.

Our team used several large trees felled to undertake the works to create habitat log piles along the embankment, as well as donating smaller logs to lineside neighbours for firewood and craft projects.

Engaging with a lineside neighbour who works as a wood sculptor, some of the felled wood has been used to create a bespoke badger sculpture, which will be placed at the edge of Network Rail’s boundary, where the public footpath runs alongside.

The sculpture is accompanied by a QR code so that members of the public can scan and view a video on how we managed our impact on the environment, leaving a lasting legacy for the local community.

With the line shut to complete the works, we used this opportunity to clean up the local stations in the area while they were not being serviced. The team undertook litter picks at these stations, while also providing information to members of the public regarding the works.

We also introduced solar site accommodation, which included solar powered lighting in our main compound, in addition to a solar unit that had rainwater harvesting built in in our smaller compound, so that grey water could be used in toilets.