Wildflower meadows to line England's new roads in boost for biodiversity

Highways England scheme to encourage species-rich grasslands could create hundreds of miles of rare habitats after decades of loss

Native wildflower meadows will line the verges of all new large-scale road projects under an initiative by Highways England, the Guardian can reveal.

Nodding blue harebells, clusters of yellow kidney vetch and flashes of bird's-foot-trefoil could soon become the norm on stretches of the road network in England with the infrastructure provider committing to the creation of biodiverse grasslands as standard on all new major schemes.