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Written question asked by Greg Smith (Conservative) on Tuesday, 30 June 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 7 July 2026 (named day). It was answered by Keir Mather (Labour) on Tuesday, 7 July 2026 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Network Rail: Biodiversity

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 24 June 2026 to Question 11452 on Network Rail: Biodiversity, what guidance Network Rail issues on when a habitat management plan is required; and how many such plans are currently in force.

Answer

Network Rail has a company standard entitled ‘Biodiversity’ published in March 2023. Within this standard is a module entitled ‘Habitat Management Plan’ and its scope reads: ‘This module contains the key principles for the management and enhancement of biodiversity and prescribes requirements for producing habitat management plans (HMP) for the rail network.’

There are two levels of habitat management plan in use across the rail network: (1) generic habitat plans which provide detail at a whole route or habitat-type level; and (2) specific location plans which are a more detailed document providing guidance for a particular location.

At present there is almost 80 per cent of the network by area covered by generic habitat plans. There have also been almost 200 of the specific location plans produced; these include railway-designated nature sites as well as sites of special scientific interest.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
14431
Session
2026-27
Related items
Network Rail: Biodiversity
Wednesday, 24 June 2026
Written questions
House of Commons
Subjects
Biodiversity Network Rail
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk