Water voles are a protected species and Britain’s most rapidly declining mammal. They live in ditches, ponds, canals and rivers in urban as well as rural locations.
Building of the Kirkintilloch Link Road threatened a Water Vole habitat. The aim of this project was to create a replacement habitat equivalent in linear area, quality and linkage to the original site.
The new habitat was designed to guarantee the existence of an over wintering population and has the potential for additional summer expansion of the breeding population.
It has been created by developing existing drainage ditches, to create an increased drainage network as well as a new pond with a series of inbuilt islet features.
The design sought to maximise the availability of bankside/water habitat by creating ditch, creek, pool, bund and island features. These features allow for a range of habitat and feeding opportunities for the voles while ensuring an abundance of essential burrowing banks.
A key requirement of the work was to ensure that the banks revegetated quickly by using existing vegetation communities.
A low ground pressure digger, including the use of bog mats, ensured minimal disturbance to the sensitive vegetation surface – a key contract requirement.
