VOLUNTEERS in Easton-in-Gordano have been working hard to ensure a local nature reserve is preserved during work to improve the roads approaching the nearby motorway junction.
As part of a programme of improvements aimed at reducing the long queues that form at junction 19 of the M5, a new bus lane and high occupancy vehicle lane will be created along Martcombe Road, adjacent to St George’s Flower Bank.
Traffic lights will also be installed at the junction with Portbury High Street.
St George’s Flower Bank is home to many species of wild flower and volunteers have been negotiating with North Somerset Council to ensure as little damage as possible is caused to the area during the works.
Efforts have already begun to clear scrub and undergrowth to create better sight lines for drivers and in the near future a noticeable amount of trees will also have to be removed by the council’s contractor.
Some will be removed as part of an ongoing management plan of Pearl’s Patch, an area of trees planted in memory of a woman from the village, and others will be removed to allow the road to be widened.
Most of the trees to be removed will be ash, which are a quick-growing tree, and the tree cutting will be carried out in February.
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