300ft bridge to save Tufty Club

TUFTY may no longer need to know how to cross the road. A 375ft red squirrel bridge is planned to cross a new dual-carriageway to protect the animal from heavy traffic.

The bridge will span a section of the controversial Aberdeen bypass, which has been approved in principle and will pass through the ancient Cleanhill Wood to the south-west of the city.

The aim of the Kingcausie Wildlife Overbridge, as it is known, is to give safe passage to the area's colony of red squirrels and other wildlife as they cross between their newly- divided territory. The animals will be expected to scamper above the heads of motorists as they travel along the bypass in a road cutting below.

The structure – the longest of its type in Scotland – will be similar to a pedestrian footbridge, but 'planted' with shrubs to create a natural-looking corridor. Engineering experts said it could cost as much as £100,000.

However, the owner of the Kingcausie Estate says he wants to preserve the red squirrel habitat as it is and the bypass should be re-routed away from the wood.

The Kingcausie animals are now expected to become a test of the Government's determination to save the native red variety. Its numbers are in decline because of the advance of the North American grey squirrel from the south.

Earlier this month, SNP environment minister Michael Russell said the red squirrel was an increasingly rare sight, "but as an iconic species we must do everything we can to protect them".

Plans for the bridge are included in environmental statements submitted in support of the Aberdeen bypass – officially titled the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR) – to be built at a cost of approaching £390m to relieve traffic congestion in the city.

The plans show the bridge crossing the carriageway over a cutting that would be driven through Cleanhill Wood just north of the village of Maryculter. An evaluation by environmental consultants of the importance of Cleanhill Wood says it is "optimal foraging habitat" that supports populations of red squirrels.

It says: "Red Squirrels are assessed as being of regional ecological value in this woodland as there are considered to be regularly occurring, locally significant populations of this nationally important species."

The report says the road plan brings a "risk of mortality" during clearance of woodland and a risk of "direct mortality" through road traffic accidents if red squirrels attempt to cross the carriageway, hence the bridge proposal. However, the evaluation adds: "It may take some time for red squirrels to become accustomed to using the overbridge".

John Wilson, the managing agent for the AWPR, a consortium of Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire councils and the Government, said: "Providing mitigation for wildlife is an integral part of the proposals for the route, as with any major infrastructure development.

"The wildlife overbridge proposed as part of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route scheme, close to the Cleanhill junction, is one of a number of elements of the design intended to provide species with a means to crossing the route in familiar surroundings.

"The bridge would be a solid structure similar to a road or pedestrian footbridge, but it would be planted using appropriate species, to create a wildlife corridor above the route."

Henry Irvine-Fortescue, the 16th generation of his family to own the estate, said the idea was "barmy". He said:

"A bridge might work with a narrow road where the bridge is quite short and can blend in with overhanging trees. But as the cutting is 375ft across, it is going to have to be awfully long and probably quite expensive.

"The planting cover is also going to have to be very good or the squirrels will be exposed to predators. It will be like delivering them on a plate to passing buzzards. Also I'm not quite sure how you get them to use it. Will there be a sign saying 'squirrels this way?'

The previous Labour-Liberal Democrat administration at Holyrood gave the go-ahead to the bypass, but conceded a public inquiry following thousands of objections from homeowners and businesses on the route and environmental groups.

The inquiry will go ahead in September with opposition groups intending to fight the current preferred route. A previous preferred route to the east of Cleanhill Wood was abandoned.

"I would like the road to be re-routed away from the wood and I have 15 generations of my family cheering me on," said Irvine-Fortescue.

The Scottish Wildlife Trust, which has lodged an official objection, said preserving red squirrel habitat was a Government-approved objective.