Mohawk Way / Sandford Lane, Woodley Phase 1 Survey
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Mohawk Way / Sandford Lane, Woodley Phase 1 Survey & Ecological Assessment Mohawk Way Ecological Assessment Introduction This survey was commission to provide an initial ecological assessment and Phase 1 habitat survey of the proposed development site at the Junction of Mohawk Way and Sandford Lane in Woodley, Berkshire (Application No. O/2013/1212). In total, the site covers 1.8 ha. The site is bounded by residential properties on the western side, with a pumping station occupying the northern boundary. Mohawk Way lies to the west, with Sandford lane to the south (Figure 1). Figure 1. Mohawk Way / Sandford Lane site boundaries. Method This assessment was compiled using a combination of field survey visits and a desktop study. The ecological assessment of the site was carried out an experienced ecological surveyor, with visits being made to the site between April and October 2012. A follow-up visit was made to the site in August 2013 to ensure the information on habitats remains current. Visual surveys of the site were undertaken with notes being made of the nature and type of vegetation and any species of interest being recorded. Matthew Smith BSc ARCS FRES MCIEEM Page 1 Mohawk Way Ecological Assessment The desktop portion of the assessment was carried out using a datasearch provided by the Thames Valley Environmental Record Centre (TVERC) in August 2013. The datasearch asked for information relating to protected species and other species of interest noted either on site or within a 1km radius of the site centre. The full TVERC datasearch is attached to this report as an Appendix. Results The field surveys recorded three types of habitat on site. These consist of an area of developing woodland in the northern portion, large areas of dense scrub and a smaller area of coarse grassland. The distribution of these different habitats is shown in Figure 2. Figure 2. Mohawk Way / Sandford Lane Phase 1 habitats. Matthew Smith BSc ARCS FRES MCIEEM Page 2 Mohawk Way Ecological Assessment The area of developing woodland consists of a mix of regenerating elm suckers together with self sown ash, sycamore and oak saplings. With the exception of a few slightly larger oak trees in the northwest corner of the site, the majority of these trees are saplings that appear to be recent in origin, there are no mature or veteran trees in the wooded area. Most of the elm suckers are now reaching the size where the bark will be of a suitable depth to allow the ingress of elm bark beetle, so it expected that the majority of the elm will suffer from dutch elm disease over the next few years. The ground flora in this area is unexceptional, consisting mostly of a mix of nettle and brambles (Figure 3). Much of the central part of the site is occupied by blocks of dense scrub. Most of this is bramble, though a large block in the south-east corner consists mostly of snowberry, a non- native garden escape (Figure 4). The areas of coarse grassland appear to be kept open due to grazing by rabbits. The ground flora is typical of an area of ground with a medium level of rabbit grazing, consisting of a mixture of grasses and ruderal plants such as ragwort, ground ivy, nettles and thistles. (Figure 5). The southern margins of the site adjoin a small area of regularly mown grassland. Along this boundary is a strip of slightly taller coarse grasses and weeds which is allowed to grow taller due to the reluctance of the rabbits to graze in more exposed areas. Figure 3. Ground flora in the developing woodland. Matthew Smith BSc ARCS FRES MCIEEM Page 3 Mohawk Way Ecological Assessment Figure 4. Dense bramble and snowberry scrub. Figure 5. Rabbit grazed area in the centre part of the site flanked by scrub. Matthew Smith BSc ARCS FRES MCIEEM Page 4 Mohawk Way Ecological Assessment The TVERC datasearch indicated that the Mohawk Way is situated within 1km of a number of statutory designated and non-statutory designated wildlife sites including the Lodge Wood and Sandford Mill SSSI and the Sandford Fen and Dinton Pastures Local Wildlife Sites. Although the datasearch produced a range of records for protected species and other species of interest, there are no species records held on the TVERC database from within Mohawk Way site itself. Discussion This site is typical of a small area of fairly recently “unused” land. Young trees saplings and scrub have begun to become established and parts of the site are grazed by rabbits. The vegetation on the site appears to consist of common plant species regularly recorded from sites such as this. None of the three habitat types identified would be classed as BAP habitats. When assessing sites such as this, it is usual to consider the potential impact on protected species such as badgers, bats and reptiles. The TVERC datasearch indicates there are no records for badgers with the 1km search area, and on-site survey visits found no evidence of the presence of badgers (e.g. sett entrances, latrines or badger hairs) on the site. Similarly, bats have been recorded from the search area. There are no buildings or other structures on site which could potentially provide roosting or hibernation sites for bats. The trees within the area of developing woodland consist of a mix of saplings and young trees. These lack rot holes or areas of loose bark and are considered to offer negligible bat roost potential. As such, it is considered the proposed development will have minimal impact on any local bat populations. Reptiles were found to be present on site. Full details of the reptile survey and mitigation proposals are provided in a separate report. The area of developing woodland offers potential nesting sites for breeding birds. In order to minimise the risk to breeding birds, any clearance of trees or scrub will be carried out outside of the nesting season (1 March – 31 July). Although some trees and scrub will be lost, the aboricultural report identifies a number of existing larger trees that are to be retained. The illustrative master plan for the site also identifies a number of plantings of new trees and shrubs within the completed development; these would offer potential replacement nesting sites to mitigate for those trees that are removed. The datasearch provided 2 records for Great Crested Newts (GCN) from within the search area. GCN are known to move at least 500m from their breeding ponds, though most are found with 250m of the pond. These two records were the result of the finding of a pair of GCN hibernating newts in an old pillbox in Sandford Fen, approximately 250m from the southern boundary of the Mohawk Road site. The closest ponds to the old pillbox are to the south of the pillbox. There are no ponds within 500m of the Mohawk Road site and it is considered unlikely that the proposed development with have any impact on GCN populations. Overall, with the exception of the small population of reptiles noted on site, the site would appear to be of limited ecological interest. Matthew Smith BSc ARCS FRES MCIEEM Page 5 Mohawk Way Ecological Assessment Appendix I Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre Datasearch Matthew Smith BSc ARCS FRES MCIEEM Page 6 Biodiversity Report Site: Land off Mohawk Way, Woodley TVERC Ref: B94.13 Prepared for : Matthew Smith Date: 23rd August 2013 By Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre This report should not to be passed on to third parties without prior permission of TVERC. Please be aware that printing maps from this report requires an appropriate OS licence TVERC is hosted by Oxfordshire County Council TABLE OF CONTENTS The following are included in this report: GENERAL INFORMATION: Terms & Conditions Species data statements PROTECTED & NOTABLE SPECIES INFORMATION: Table of legally protected and notable species records (1 km search area) Species status key Data origin key DESIGNATED WILDLIFE SITE INFORMATION: A map of statutory designated wildlife sites (1 km search area) A map of non-statutory designated wildlife sites (1km search area) Descriptions/citations for designated wildlife sites Designated Wildlife Sites Guidance Produced by TVERC 06/09/2012 TERMS AND CONDITIONS The copyright for this document and the information provided is retained by Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre. The copyright for some of the species data will be held by a recording group or individual recorder. Where this is the case, and the group or individual providing the data in known, the data origin will be given in the species table. TVERC must be acknowledged if any part of this report or data derived from it is used in a report. The whole document may be used as an appendix within your report. The data in this report can only be used for the project for which it was requested. It cannot be passed on to third parties without permission of TVERC (this excludes reports presented to clients and Local Authorities). The data should be considered valid for a maximum 12 months from the date on the cover of this report. If the data is to be used after that time an update should be requested. The data must not be added to any permanent database system. The absence of any species or habitat data for any site, area or location does not mean that any species or habitat is not present. MAPS To reproduce the Ordnance Survey mapping you must hold a relevant licence for the use of Ordnance Survey mapping or it can be copied at a printers or copyshop that holds a licence to carry out search work (see the Ordnance Survey website).