ESCC - RS - Bexhill Hastings Link Road Ecological Monitoring and Reporting

Tender description

The Bexhill Hastings Link road links the outskirts of Hastings and Bexhill and is 5.6km long, forming part of the A2690, it runs along the line of the disused Bexhill to Crowhurst railway line and passes around the northern side of the Combe Haven Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Crossing Crowhurst Road and the Hastings to London railway line, it goes round the southern edge of the Marline Valley Woods SSSI before joining Queensway just north of Crowhurst Road. The construction element of the road was completed in 2016 and has a maintenance / environmental management period of 7 years. As part of this management there is a commitment to ecological monitoring of several species and mitigation methods put in place to reduce the effects of the new road on these species. The species that will be ecologically monitored are Badgers, Bats, Dormice, Great Crested Newt, Barn Owls and reptiles. The mitigation methods are; badger underpasses, dormouse bridges, badger fencing and gates, wildlife boxes, reptile hibernacula and bat hop over fencing. East Sussex County Council (ESCC) are looking for a provider who can carry out effective monitoring of the identified species in a manner consistent with the current methodology. This will include the monitoring itself, the production of reports based on data gathered to be submitted to ESCC and the ongoing inspection/maintenance of the mitigation methods described.