DRAFT Burnham Beeches Management Plan 2020 - 2030 DRAFT Burnham Beeches is a unique nature reserve Burnham Beeches is a precious remnant The City of London Corporation is and public open space owned and managed of an active wood pasture with ancient committed to managing Burnham Beeches in by the City of London Corporation. pollarded beech trees, a habitat that was perpetuity to ensure that it remains a special once commonplace throughout the south place for generations to come. It is a registered charity (number 232987) of England but is now restricted to a small A team of Rangers, a Conservation Officer which receives the major part of its funding number of places. Situated in an increasingly and administration staff, based at Burnham from the City. urbanised landscape, we are working with Beeches, works with volunteers and local people at all levels to try to minimise the contractors to protect and maintain the deterioration of the habitats and reduce the important features of Burnham Beeches and impacts of fragmentation. Stoke Common for people and wildlife. Contents Introduction 4 2.0 The need for management 5.0 Work programme 2020-2030 Facts learnt in the last 10 years 5 2.1 Pollarded trees 20 Work programme 68 Achievements 2010-2020 6 2.2 Grazing 21 2.3 Climate change 22 Background information 1.0 Site description 2.4 Fragmentation, pollution 22 Glossary 80 and other stresses 1.1 Location 7 PSPO map 80 2.5 Visitors 23 1.2 Ownership and access rights 7 Contact details back cover 1.3 Site status 8 3.0 Vision 1.4 Financial situation 8 3.1 Five hundred year vision 24 1.5 Physical features 8 3.2 10 year vision 24 1.6 Cultural information 9 1.7 Access and visitors 11 4.0 Objectives and methodology 1.8 Current use 13 4.1 Objective 1: Biological 26 1.9 Biological features 14 4.2 Objective 2: People 48 4.3 Objective 3: 60 Estate assets and legal issues 3 DRAFT 4 DRAFT INTRODUCTION Introduction Caring for the Beeches is much more than a The keystone of the 2010-20 management matter of opening the gates, clearing the plan was the expansion of the conservation Burnham Beeches was acquired in 1880 litter and mowing the grass. Each member of grazing scheme across the Beeches as under the City of London’s Open Spaces staff at Burnham Beeches is an expert, part of the wood pasture restoration. The particularly in wood pasture and veteran tree Act (1878) which sets out the City’s duty to next 10 years are a bridge between the management, conservation grazing and protect and conserve Burnham Beeches for substantial heathland, mire and wood heathland restoration. They influence, and public recreation and wildlife conservation pasture restoration of previous plans and are influenced by, countryside management ‘in perpetuity’. It is further safeguarded by the development of on-going management practice across the country and Europe. national and international legislation. Each project is meticulously planned and practices to maintain these valuable researched to ensure it provides maximum habitats in good condition. More restoration Approximately 500,000 visits are made to the benefit to the nature reserve and achieves a is planned, but there will be a shift towards Beeches each year. Some people visit the balance between our visitors and wildlife. more staff and volunteer time being spent nature reserve several times a week whilst managing the previously restored habitats. others might come only once in their lifetime. This new management plan aims to Most visitors consider the Beeches to be a summarise why, when and how Burnham The key issues for the 2020-30 plan are very special place and there is a strong sense Beeches will be managed over the next 10 focussed on connecting the most important of it being ‘their’ bit of countryside. Many, years. It builds upon the achievements of habitats within the Beeches to help wildlife however, are unaware of just how significant previous plans and forms another small step spread across the nature reserve as well as the Beeches is for wildlife and of the bigger towards the 500 year vision for Burnham into the surrounding areas. picture i.e. the need to actively manage the Beeches. The plan is also a practical working reserve in a manner that reflects traditional document to guide the many hundreds This management plan is the result of practice and takes an holistic view of the of tasks that will take place on the nature extensive consultation with a wide variety surrounding landscape. reserve over the next decade. of stakeholders including government and non-government agencies, local authorities, conservation experts, local groups and site visitors. Aspects of the management plan were presented in a public consultation exercise in October 2019 attended by over 900 people. All aspects of the plan received a high level of support. Our special thanks are extended to all those who helped to influence and produce this document. Things we learnt in the last 10 years w Several species of lichen, beetles, flies and moths new to the Beeches have been found, demonstrating the astonishing diversity of the nature reserve. w The Main and Little Commons have some unexpectedly rare and interesting plants on them. w Burnham Beeches was designated a Nationally Important Fungus Area and Important Plant Area. w The nature reserve continues to be a stronghold for the rare moss, Zygodon forsteri. w Burnham Beeches has more visitors per hectare than other sites of the same conservation status in the UK. w Soils in areas with higher visitor pressure are richer in bacteria and poorer in fungi, indicating a decline in soil health. w We have a better understanding of where our visitors come from and where they walk on the Beeches. w DCOs/PSPOs have been highly effective and have significantly reduced anti-social behaviour on the reserve. w Water catchments of the streams that flow into the Beeches have been clearly identified and mapped. Burnham Beeches offers a unique mixture of habitats and wildlife. Careful management is needed to meet the needs of both recreation and conservation. 5 DRAFT INTRODUCTION 6 DRAFT INTRODUCTION Achievements 2010-20: Achievements 2010-20: Achievements 2010-20: Habitat restoration and protection Looking after visitors Behind the scenes Heathland/wood pasture restoration Increasing visitor enjoyment Protecting the Beeches Work in the previous management plan was Dog Control Orders, subsequently converted A policy to better protect the Beeches from delivered, with 12ha of the reserve restored to Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs), the impact of development was included in to more open habitats. This included selected were introduced. These require visitors to pick the Chiltern and South Bucks Local Plan 2036 clearance along the roadsides to restore up all dog faeces and to keep dogs on leads that has been submitted for inspection. wood pasture, reduce future tree safety issues in certain parts of the nature reserve. Finance and allow better access for visitors. Access for all Income generation increased, offsetting a Grazing expansion Work by volunteers and contractors on the decrease in central funding from the City of The area grazed was increased by nearly easy access path and other paths across London. Car park charges were introduced 400%, from 43ha to 165ha (75% of the whole the Beeches reduced erosion and improved at weekends and Bank Holidays. nature reserve), providing a sustainable, access for all visitors. Promoting our conservation work environmentally-friendly way to manage The paper newsletter was replaced by the wood pasture of Burnham Beeches. Explaining why the Beeches is so special New interpretation and information boards an e-newsletter, cutting costs and saving Invisible fences were erected in key locations. resources. Regular updates are now posted Technological advances enabled us on Twitter and Facebook. to graze120ha of this additional area Events and public participation Volunteers without installing more fencing or cattle grids. Small and large events were carried out each year, including community picnics. The Volunteers continued to support staff in many Looking after the old pollards number of school visits has doubled since areas, providing the equivalent of an extra Approximately 50 trees were cut each year 2015. 3-4 staff members per year. as well as halo clearance and smaller scale Increased consultation Pound restoration works; a new work programme was drawn up The Burnham Beeches and Stoke Common Work to Scheduled Monument standards was for the next 10 years. Consultation Group played a key role in carried out on the historic and protected many important aspects of site management, animal pound. Creating a new generation of pollards providing a way for members of the local Over 1,000 new pollards have now been Monitoring community and local interest groups to be created and approximately100 existing new Monitoring included dust, hydrology, ground involved with decisions affecting the Beeches. pollards were cut each year. running invertebrates, butterflies, birds, vegetation and the impact of grazing. Green Flag & Green Heritage Protecting rare species Annual accredition in these prestigious Research A rare lichen was translocated from a dead national award schemes reflected the high Research was carried out into visitor use, soils, tree to new host trees nearby. management standards of the nature reserve. tree health, and hydrology. 1.0 Site description Roads open to Habitats and Features road ancient woodland To road closed to all vehicles ancient