Thames Clifton to CTA (Conservation Target Area)

The Thames floodplain between Clifton and Shillingford but including Nature Reserve and the gravel pits at Dorchester. Joint Character Area: Thames and Avon Vales Landscape Types: River Meadowlands, Terrace Farmland (Dorchester Gravel Pits), Rolling Farmland and Farmland Hills (Little Wittenham Nature Reserve). Geology: Alluvium and sand and gravel in river valley. Mudstone, siltstone and sandstone at Little Wittenham Nature Reserve with chalk on the hill top. Topography: Largely flat riverside land but including the mainly north facing slopes and hill tops of the northernmost of the Sinodun Hills at Little Wittenham. Area of CTA: 487 hectares Biodiversity: • Lowland Meadow: Clifton Meadow is a Local Wildlife Site near where remnants of lowland meadow are found along with fen habitat. Lowland Meadow habitat is also present in Church Meadow and on Round Hill at Little Wittenham. There is a small wet meadow at Shillingford and there are some remnants in other fields. • Eutrophic Standing water: Four of the gravel pits at Dorchester are Local Wildlife Sites and are important for wintering wildfowl. Little Wittenham has a series of ponds that are important breeding sites for great crested newts. • Wet woodland. Small areas next to the Thames at Burcot, Little Wittenham and Shillingford that support populations of Lodden lily. • Other: Woodland at Little Wittenham, some limestone grassland here and on Dyke Hills, some patches of fen habitat.

Access: Northmoor Trust estate and the . Archaeology: Dyke Hills at Dorchester, Castle Hill at Little Wittenham. Biodiversity Action Plan Targets associated with this CTA: 1. Lowland meadows – management 1 and restoration. 2. Lowland mixed deciduous woodland and wet woodland – management and restoration. 3. Eutrophic standing water – management (maintaining the value of Dorchester Pits). 4. Fen – management. 5. Ponds – management and creation (with particular emphasis on amphibians). 6. Floodplain grazing marsh – management. 1 “Management” implies both maintaining the quantity, and maintaining and improving the quality of existing BAP habitat and incorporates the following target definitions: “Maintaining extent” and “Achieving Condition”.

Clifton Burcot Hampden

Warborough Dorchester Little Wittenham

Shillingford

Area of BAP habitat present in CTA (from TVERC BAP Habitat GIS layer 5/2010) and 2015 BAP Habitat Targets for this CTA Coastal Thames Lowland Lowland Wood - Lowland Lowland and Eutrophic Clifton to Lowland Lowland Beech Mixed Wet Pasture Traditional Calcareous Dry Acid Floodplain Standing Reedbeds Meadows Fens and Yew Deciduous Woodland and Orchards Shillingford Grassland Grassland Grazing Waters Woodland Woodland Parkland CTA Marsh Area of BAP Habitat in 10.4 49.9 68.9 14.9 4.0 CTA (ha) % of CTA 2.1 10.2 14.1 3.1 0.8 area

% of county 1.0 1.0 7.4 0.3 2.9 resource Wood - Coastal 2015 Eutrophic Pasture Lowland Lowland and Traditional Lowland Standing Lowland and BAP Calcareous Dry Acid Floodplain Reedbeds Native Woodland Orchards - Meadows Waters – Fens Parkland No targets Grazing No targets targets Grassland Grassland Targets not for 2015 Marsh for 2015 divided by (hectares) CTA Maintenance (to be ------determined) Achieving Condition (to be ------determined)

Restoration 63 - - 6 - -

Creation - - 2 - -

1