Plans unveiled for Kent's first 'bee friendly' bus shelter could leave residents feeling buzzed.

Higham Parish Council has been working alongside Kent County Council (KCC) to jointly deliver the £8,000 scheme on a bus route along the A226 Gravesend Road near Forge Lane, which runs between Gravesham and Strood.

The existing shelter will be replaced with a new dark green one next month. The roof will be covered with sedum and wildflower that can attract bees to pollinate there, with fears around the plight of pollinators across the country.

A Higham Parish Council spokesman said: "There had been lots of reports on bee friendly shelters being good for the environment and had been installed in programmes in Holland. Sedum roofs are also good at absorbing pollution.

"We were looking at replacing the bus shelter and this seemed like a good way to do something environmentally friendly."

National bus shelter manufacturers, Externiture UK, distributed images to the Local Democracy Reporting Service to show what the shelters may look like.

Some have already been installed by councils across England, with six established in central Bedfordshire. Kent will join the "leading" pack of local authorities to promote this eco-friendly initiative.

Karen Staggs, who is the operations director for Externiture, said: "Green roof shelters are used extensively across Europe but has been very slow to start in the UK.

"A few councils are now leading the way with this environmentally green shelter option and the reaction has been extremely positive.

"KCC were very keen to see this shelter installed at Higham as they saw it as a positive move that would encourage other areas within Kent to consider bee friendly green roof shelters."

She added: "They can also be used for car charging stations which is very innovative and something we hope other developments would consider."

The bus shelter plans form part of a KCC's Plan Bee action plan which is actively seeking to reverse the "serious" decline of pollinators in the UK, including bees, moths and butterflies.

Research shows the annual benefits of insect pollinators to the British Economy have been valued at £691 million but half of the UK's 27 bumblebee species are in decline.

Cllr Sean Holden (Con), spearheading KCC's action plan, said: "The big idea is to mobilise all the people of Kent to campaign for billions of their tiny fellow residents who are not only important in their own right, but for us in a big way."

KCC's environment and transport committee was told that several actions were taking place, including a review to "minimise" the use of pesticide, a substance used to destroy insects on agricultural and farmland.

Former Swale council leader Cllr Andrew Bowles (Con), a committee member, added: "As a retired farmer, I particularly value the role that all pollinating species play and this initiative deserves to succeed."

Meanwhile, Arriva's Fastrack has also expressed "extreme support" for the new initiative as the bus company seeks to identify opportunities for eco-bus shelters along routes in Ebbsfleet, Dartford and Gravesham.

Simon Finnie, who is the area managing director at Arriva, said: "The initiative will be great for the local area, not only providing wildflowers to brighten up landscapes, but also acting to help stem the decline in bee population.

"We are continuously looking at ways to improve our impact on the environment and look forward to working with KCC on this exciting initiative."

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