Jealott's Hill, Warfield Technical Summary

JEALOTT’S HILL, WARFIELD TECHNICAL SUMMARY/OVERVIEW NOTE ON ECOLOGICAL CONSTRAINTS AND OPPORTUNITIES Executive Summary Development at the Jealott’s Hill site offers the opportunity to create extensive areas of new species and wildflower-rich mesotrophic grassland, through the reversion of arable land and through the diversification of existing improved grassland currently in agricultural use. Small patches of existing more diverse semi-improved grassland around the current research campus buildings could also form the basis of a significant project to create or restore new areas of ‘lowland meadow’ priority habitat; either through their retention and positive management in situ to promote enhancement, or through the use of the soil seed bank in these areas to diversify larger parts of the rural hinterland of the estate currently in agricultural use. Existing species-rich hedgerows can also be subject to positive future management using traditional conservation-friendly methods such as laying, with older hedgerows prioritised for retention within the layout, and new species-rich native hedgerows planted in conjunction with the proposals. Existing ponds can be subject to ecological restoration to improve their suitability for a range of species including aquatic invertebrates, amphibians, foraging bats and hunting Grass Snake. The habitats present both on site and in the wider area are likely to support a range of fauna of varying ecological importance including; amphibians, reptiles, breeding and overwintering birds (particularly farmland birds), mammals such as bats and Badgers, and invertebrate assemblages. The scale of the proposals and large areas of proposed Green Infrastructure being brought forward will provide the means to deliver new habitat for these species and this will be informed by further ecological survey work in due course. The proposed Green Infrastructure will include a large area of Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG), to draw recreational visitors such as dogwalkers away from the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area (SPA), located some 6-7km to the south of the proposals on the opposite side of Bracknell. The potential SANG area available is more than double that required to accommodate the needs of development at Jealott’s Hill, and consequently offers the opportunity to accommodate the needs of other development in north Bracknell. 1. Introduction 1.1 Ecological Planning & Research Ltd (EPR) have been commissioned by Barton Willmore to provide strategic advice on the potential ecological constraints and opportunities that would be presented to redevelopment of the Syngenta site at Jealott’s Hill, to include a large residential development (capacity studies suggest in the region of 4,000 dwellings), three primary schools and a secondary school and provision of a new Science and Innovation Park. 1 This technical note provides a summary of this strategic advice to assist in the early stages of the consideration of the proposals. It should not be considered to represent a full Preliminary Ecological Assessment (PEA) carried out in accordance with the guidance issued by the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM, 2013), nor does it provide detailed advice on compliance with wildlife related legislation and policy. 1.2 The advice in this technical note is informed primarily by an update desktop study and field visit carried out by Robert Souter of EPR on 8 March 2018 (updating a previous visit made on 17 June 2016). The desktop study included; a search of records of protected and notable species and non-statutory designated sites from Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre (TVERC), and the interrogation of a range of other information sources including modern and historic aerial photographs and maps, the Government’s Multi Agency Geographic Information for the Countryside (MAGIC) website, the British Geological Survey’s Open Geoscience Viewer, and the Soilscapes Website. 1.3 Reference is also made here to a visit was made by Andrew Cross, EPR’s Senior Botanist, on 22 June 2016, for a closer examination of species-rich grasslands around the research campus. 1.4 The location of the site in relation to nearby nature conservation designations is shown on Map 1. Potentially relevant records of protected and notable species are shown on Map 2, and a broad overview of the habitats that are present within the site is shown on Map 3. 2. Ecological Overview Designated Sites 2.1 There are no statutory designated sites within the vicinity of the proposals that would have any significant implications for the feasibility of development at this location. Windsor Forest & Great Park Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is located approximately 4.5km to the east. The Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area (SPA) is located more than 6km to the south (see further discussion on this below). The nearest Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) is Chawridge Bourne SSSI, about 1.5km to the east, but this is an unimproved meadow site that is unlikely to have any sensitivity to the proposals. 2.2 In terms of Local Wildlife Sites (LWS), Lordlands Wood LWS is very close to the north eastern boundary and Ferrygrove Copse LWS is just beyond this. To the north west are a string of copses, the nearest being Strattons Copse LWS. 2.3 Berkshire and/or Bracknell Forest Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) has focussed limited resources into achieving conservation targets for priority habitats with Habitat Action Plans (HAP) within Biodiversity Opportunity Areas (BOA). Of potential relevance to the proposals area are Chawridge Valley BOA to the east (associated with Chawridge Bourne SSSI and at least the two LWS copses mentioned above), and part of the extensive Waltham to Binfield Woodlands and Parklands BOA to the northwest, incorporating the other LWS copses 2 mentioned above. The proposals offer the opportunity to promote substantial landscape- scale habitat links between these BOAs and their associated designated sites through provision of green and blue infrastructure (see further details in section 3). The Thames Basin Heaths SPA and Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG) 2.4 The Thames Basin Heaths SPA is designated for three species of rare bird listed in Annex 1 of the Birds Directive, which nest either on or close to the ground (Woodlark, Dartford Warbler and Nightjar). Consequently, these birds are very vulnerable to disturbance from increased recreational activity at the SPA, particularly from dog walking. 2.5 As can be seen from Map 1, the site at Jealott’s Hill is located on the opposite side of Bracknell to the Thames Basin Heaths SPA, and beyond the 5km ‘Zone of Influence’ outlined in saved Policy NRM6 of the South East Plan (also references in Policy CS14 of the Bracknell Forest Core Strategy), which prescribes particular impact avoidance measures for development within this zone due to the propensity of people to travel this distance to reach the SPA to pursue recreational activity. These measures include the provision of SANG, to act as an attractive alternative destination for recreational visitors, to draw people away from the SPA. 2.6 The Joint Strategic Partnership Board’s Endorsed Thames Basin Heaths SPA Delivery Framework (2009) reflects evidence provided to the South East Plan Regional Spatial Strategy Examination in Public (EiP), in that it indicates that large developments over 5km from the SPA should be subject to a Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA). This is to determine whether those developments are likely to contribute towards increases in recreational pressure on the SPA, and determine the scope of any impact avoidance measures needed to prevent this. Bracknell Forest’s Thames Basin Heaths SPA Mitigation Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) reflects this, outlining that such an assessment is required for developments involving a net increase of more than 50 dwellings beyond 5km. 2.7 Emerging Policy LP39 of the draft Bracknell Forest Local Plan, and its underpinning Habitats Regulations Assessment Report (HRA), collectively indicate that large developments between 5km and 7km from the SPA should be required to provide SANG at a significantly lower rate than development within 5km (2ha per 1000 new residents rather then 8ha per 1000 new residents is suggested). 2.8 On this basis, and assuming an average household occupancy rate of 2.4 people per dwelling, the proposals should be able to provide a significant surplus of SANG over and above that required for the proposed residential element of the project. The 7km line from the SPA bisects the proposals, meaning that some of the new dwellings will also fall outside of the 7km zone within which 2ha of SANG per 1000 new dwellings is required. However, even if this was not the case and the 2ha/1000 resident standard of SANG were sought for all proposed new dwellings, the 19.2ha of SANG that would be needed for the 4,000 dwellings is easily exceeded by the 46.58ha shown on the draft Land Use Plan. 3 2.9 Any large ‘destination’ strategic SANG delivered here that exceeded the needs of the development itself would be likely to have a driving catchment of 4-5km based on the Joint Strategic Partnership Board’s Thames Basin Heaths Delivery Framework (2009) and, if of sufficient quality, could potentially provide an alternative destination to the SPA for large parts of the population of North Bracknell; drawing recreational visitors northwards instead of south toward the SPA. A SANG delivered here could therefore accommodate the needs of other development coming forward in the North Bracknell area. Environmental Context Soils and Geology 2.10 The site lies on London Clay, with clay silt and sand present. In some places there are areas of superficial geology comprised of river terrace deposits of sand and gravel. The soilscapes website describes the soil in this location as ‘’Slowly permeable, seasonally wet, slightly acid but base-rich loamy and clayey soils’’ with moderate fertility.

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