MARKETS/SERVICES
Introduction
Market Sectors
Services - Buildings
Services - Environment
■	Air Quality Management
■	Archaeology
■	Asset Management
■	Aviation
■	Coastal Management
■	Contaminated Land
■	Dams & Reservoirs
■	Development Infrastructure
■	Ecology
■	Environmental Engineering
■	Environmental Impact Assessment
	■	Apollo Bridge
	■	Luton�Dunstable Translink
■	Environmental Management
■	Environmental Monitoring
■	Flood Risk Management
■	Geotechnical
■	Pipelines and Water Distribution
■	Renewable Energy
■	Sewerage
■	Small Hydro Power
■	Strategic Environmental Assessment
■	Waste Management
■	Water & Wastewater Treatment
■	Water Management
Services - Transportation
Sustainability
Capabilities A - Z

Environment Brochure

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Luton�Dunstable Translink

Bedfordshire, UK

Project outline

Ecological studies in support of, and following on from, the environmental impact assessment of a guided busway proposal between Luton and Dunstable; including detailed surveys, expert witness representation and protected species licences.

Key features

Transportation scheme
Impact on Site of Special Scientific Interest
Protected species impacts
Negotiation with stakeholders
Ongoing monitoring requirements

Skills utilised

Phase 1 habitat survey
Phase 2 NVC survey
Bat surveys
Badger surveys
Bird surveys
Reptile surveys
Invertebrate surveys
Ecological Impact Assessment
Mitigation design
Habitat translocation and creation
Negotiation with NGO and statutory agencies
Expert witness
Management and biodiversity planning
Defra licence application
Species translocation

Project detail

The Translink guided busway scheme links London Luton Airport to Houghton Regis via the town centres of Luton and Dunstable. Much of the busway runs along the line of the disused Luton to Dunstable railway which closed in 1989. Faber Maunsell managed and produced the Environmental Impact Assessment and Statement which was submitted to the Department for Transport in December 2003.

Ecological work on the project has been undertaken by Faber Maunsell since summer 2000 and has included a series of detailed Phase 1 habitat surveys, detailed botanical surveys, badger bat, bird, reptile and invertebrate surveys. Emergency access proposals associated with the busway involved some land take on the Blow’s down Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and the scheme would result in the loss of most of a County Wildlife Site (CWS) along the disused rail corridor and disruption to protected species. Further surveys were undertaken in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004. Further surveys are expected in 2005. Faber Maunsell have also provided expert witnesses for ecology and other disciplines at the public inquiry into the scheme.

The land affected at Blow’s Down is owned by the Wildlife Trust and because of this and the ecological interest the project has involved a great deal of consultation and negotiation with them, English Nature and County and Borough Ecologists

Management and creation of new habitats form a key part of the proposed mitigation for the proposal. By adopting an innovative approach which contributes to the local Biodiversity Action Plan it is hoped that the project will have a beneficial impact on nature conservation.

For more information please contact Richard Graves