DESMOULINS鈥� whorl snail is only three millimetres high. But this tiny grey creature could be a major embarrassment to the builders of the controversial Newbury bypass. Vertigo moulinsiana is extremely rare. Now one of its strongholds has been discovered directly in the path of the 拢100 million bypass.
The Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire Naturalists鈥� Trust found the snail living in the Rack Marsh nature reserve in the valley of the River Lambourn. The road builders will take a 100-metre-wide swathe of the reserve to build the bypass鈥檚 embankment.
The discovery has been confirmed by a new survey for English Nature, which found V. moulinsiana at 19 sites along the River Lambourn, the River Kennet and their floodplains. Keith Payne, the local conservation officer at English Nature, says the area is a 鈥渕ajor stronghold鈥� for the snail in Britain.
Advertisement
As a result, he says, English Nature is considering proposing that parts of the Kennet, the Lambourn and their wetlands should be designated as a special area of conservation (SAC) under the European Union鈥檚 Habitats and Species Directive. The government has yet to designate any SACs, which would be protected from development except in cases of overriding national importance.
Simon Lyster, director of the Wildlife Trusts Partnership, says: 鈥淭he snail is one of 116 species targeted in the UK鈥檚 Biodiversity Action Plan. It would be a nonsense if the road is bulldozed straight through the most important known site for this species.鈥�
However, David Henshilwood, team leader of the local English Nature office, insists that the discovery of the snail stronghold does not justify the extra expense of building a viaduct over the rivers and wetlands, rather than the planned embankment. 鈥淭he case is insufficiently strong as there are a number of populations up and down the river, some many kilometres away from the bypass,鈥� he argues. 鈥淎s and when the embankment is built we will liaise closely with the Highways Agency to make sure the snail is not affected.鈥�
But Martin Spray, director of the Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire Naturalists鈥� Trust, criticises English Nature for not doing enough to protect the snail. 鈥淭he road is going directly through prime habitat for the snail, which should definitely be included in any SAC.鈥�
A spokesman for the Highways Agency, the arm of the Department of Transport that is building the road, says that if the site was protected 鈥渨e would then reassess if any changes of plan were necessary. However, at this point we are confident that we would be able to produce an engineering solution.鈥�