Please provide a copy of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and any wildlife assessments, including mitigation measures, carried out for the planned expansion of the North Devon link road.
This information can be found on the Devon County Council Planning Portal. The relevant reference numbers are DCC/4091/2018 for the whole scheme, and DCC/4157/2019 which is a supplementary revision for the bridge at Landkey.
Please provide details of protected species found during the works and what actions have been or are planned to protect them.
Following the initial wildlife surveys it was anticipated that the only protected species that would be encountered would be dormice.
Prior to the construction works Devon County Council installed a number of wildlife corridors and trees as part of the ecological pre-works.
From the start of the construction phase the works have been carried out under a dormouse licence registered and approved by Natural England. As part of the works the Contractor has an appointed Ecologist (named on the licence) and an ecology support team who have searched the whole site, and based on their finds have dealt with them in the most appropriate manner. Numerous dormice have been found during the works and the actions taken by the ecologist will be reported back to the County Council and Natural England as part of the Licence procedure at the end of the works.
Although Devon County Council anticipated finding only dormice, the scheme is being delivered with an ecological clerk of works so that any species encountered that had not been anticipated can be properly mitigated and dealt with.