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Home , Canford Heath, Dorset, Dorset Downs, Dorset Heaths

Dorset’s Purple Patch Heathlands from Pre-History to the Present Day Origins of Dorset Heathland We have lost so much of our heathlands, that we often forget that the whole of South was once a continuous heath, interrupted only by river valleys. This booklet is a brief guide to how heathland was formed, how it has been lost and is now protected. The story of its origin has been pieced together using many different methods as described in the following pages but it is far from complete.

The Basin Lying between the sea and the Dorset chalklands and separated from the by the River , the Poole Basin (see map) is an area of and clays formed some 50 million years ago. Our story begins here at the close of the last ice age and ends with the establishment of heathland.

0 5 The extent of the Poole Basin Note that the position of the coastline would UPLANDS have been different at the time of our story. In 7000B.C. the coast was approximately 5 miles out from the present shoreline of .

POOLE BAY The The Ice Sheet Retreats - first woodlands before the heath During the last ice age Dorset lay just south of the The rise of heathland permanent ice sheet. The landscape would have began in the but for 10000 resembled the treeless tundra of present-day Lapland. years before that Then, from about 12000 BC the climate began to the landscape was improve. Plants from warmer areas expanded their range not changeless. and colonised Dorset.*Our first direct evidence of what The amount of was happening here comes from pollen preserved in woodland cover and the corresponding peat from Morden Bog, near Wareham. abundance of grasses and heather varied in This pollen records an ancient landscape of open birch response to climatic woodland - birch, being a good coloniser, was the first and other factors. tree to arrive. The open character of these woods is evident from the abundant grasses and herbs. These herbs include the heather that several thousand years later would form the Dorset heathlands. New Trees Arrive - the woodland closes in * We were still connected to the For over 1000 years the open birch woodland remained Continent by a land relatively unchanged. Then the pollen from several peat bridge over the bogs in the Poole Basin records the expansion of pine. southern North Sea. For a time birch and pine coexisted in still quite open **Oak, hazel and elm woods but fundamental changes were imminent. became common. There are a few Within a relatively short period six tree species,**all records of lime, beech characteristic of our present deciduous woods, are found and ash. for the first time. Why this sudden change? Everywhere temperatures were rising. The ice caps melted, the sea level began to rise, a rise that later lead to Britain becoming an island (this occurred about 5000 BC). In this warm, dry climate (the climate was warmer than the present day) deciduous trees spread. Woodlands (the wildwood) now reached their maximum extent. In many places grasses and heather were shaded out, but they persisted where natural gaps in the canopy occurred. Hazel and oak, the species most tolerant of the light sandy soils in our area, were the dominant trees. Lime, the most abundant tree over much of southern , needed more fertile soils and was uncommon here. The Climate Changes It would be wrong to think that the Poole Basin was covered with one uniform oak and hazel wood at this time. On the coast there were reed beds and mudflats, while in the valleys of the Avon, Stour and Frome, reed beds and alder woods flourished. Alder is a tree that grows on waterlogged soils and a rise in the abundance of alder is one sign of the next major change that occurred. Remarkably, the English climate had stayed warm and dry for 2500 years. Then an increase in the rate of peat accumulation in the bogs, together with the spread of alder in the river valleys, indicates the arrival of a new, wetter climate.

Peat Bogs and Pollen Peat bogs consist of a waterlogged mass of partly decayed vegetation - peat. Things rot very slowly in these acidic conditions and so the level of the bog rises as plants grow and die. Pollen lands on the bog surface and becomes incorporated into the accumulating peat. Preserved in the peat, it provides a record of the local vegetation at the time of its deposition. *The peat contains an Hunters and Gatherers inwash of clay indicating increased soil erosion. By 8000 BC, people had established There are also large themselves in the Poole Basin (see over). They lived here numbers of bracken for 5000 years, witnessing the wildwood flourishing in a spores. Both these warm climate, and the change produced by more rainfall. features could be the result of tree clearance Did their activities alter the environment in any way? (see also below) In peat from Heath there are signs*suggesting that somewhere in that vicinity there had been local Reconstructing clearance of the wildwood. Peat from other sites contains Ancient fragments of charcoal. Such evidence has led to Pollen preserved in suggestions that with fire these people created habitats peat bogs provides more suitable for their game animals. This is an intriguing the background idea. Deciduous woodlands are highly resistant to information about these burning but pine, a tree that declined at this time, burns ancient landscapes. easily. Whatever the effect these people had on their Archaeological evidence fills in details and environment, it was small compared to the changes that gives insights about occurred a few thousand years later. Man’s influence on the environment. The Peoples Avoid the Poole Basin The Neolithic people were a farming people, the first British farmers. Bones of goats, sheep and cattle have been found on their settlement sites and they grew wheat and barley. But whilst Neolithic sites are abundant on the chalklands to the north, they are rare in our area. Living off the Wildwood - hunting and gathering

LivingThe Mesolithic off the Wildwoodpeople of this - hunting made and gatheringfull use of all aspects of their environment. They lived in seasonal settlements on the coasts and in the The Mesolithic people of this region made full use of all aspects of their environment. They livedvalleys, in seasonal eating settlements a variety ofon birds,the coasts fish andand in shellfish. the valleys, The eating wildwood a variety providedof birds, fish andfruit shellfish. and hazelnuts The wildwood as well provided as boar, fruit anddeer hazelnuts and ox. as To well catch as boar, and deer prepare and ox. their To catchfood and they prepare used theira range food ofthey spears used a andrange cutting of spears tools and made cutting from tools flint,made bone from flint, bone and wood. and wood.

Why did they stay away? Their success would have depended on their Whyjudgement did they of staythe soilaway? types Their best success suited towould their have agriculture depended and wheaton their and barley judgementdo not grow of well the onsoil sandy, types acidbest soils.suited Their to their use agriculture of the Poole and Basin wheat was and restricted barley doto hunting.not grow Arrowheads well on sandy, form acid a large soils. proportion Their use of Neolithicthe Poole remains Basin was found restricted here. to hunting. Arrowheads form a large proportion of Neolithic remains found here. The Bronze Age People Clear the Wildwood

TheWhere Bronze the Neolithic Age people people clearavoided the our wildwood area, their Bronze Age successors settled here in significant numbers. They built over 300 tumuli, which still remain Wheresome 3000 the Neolithic years later. people Yet in avoided most respects our area, their their way Bronze of life Age was successors similar to the settledNeolithic; here they in significantgrow wheat numbers. and barley, They kept built the over same 300 domestic tumuli, which animals. still Soremain why somedid they 3000 come years here? later. What Yet inwas most their respects impact theiron the way environment? of life was similar to the Neolithic; they grow wheat and barley, kept the same domestic animals. So why didPollen they from come the here? ancient What soils was buried their underimpact their on thetumuli environment? records a mostly open landscape, a landscape in which tumuli were designed to stand out on the Pollenskyline. from Heather the ancient was a dominantsoils buried plant; under there their was tumuli some records hazel, abut mostly few otheropen landscape,trees. a landscape in which tumuli were designed to stand out on the skyline. Heather was a dominant plant; there was some hazel, but few other trees. The wildwood has mostly gone. It must have been cleared by the - The wildwood has mostly gone. It must have been cleared by the tumulus- buildersbuilders butbut thethe purposepurpose behindbehind theirtheir labourslabours isis notnot obvious.obvious. CerealCereal pollenpollen isis mostlymostly absentabsent fromfrom tumulustumulus soilssoils butbut presentpresent inin smallsmall quantitiesquantities inin peat.peat. TheThe PoolePoole BasinBasin wasn’twasn’t coveredcovered inin goldengolden wheatwheat fieldsfields butbut possiblypossibly areasareas werewere cleared,cleared, croppedcropped forfor aa fewfew yearsyears andand thenthen abandoned.abandoned. PasturalPastural farmingfarming maymay havehave beenbeen important,important, grazinggrazing animalsanimals preventingpreventing thethe regrowthregrowth ofof trees.trees. WhateverWhatever thethe detailsdetails ofof thesethese events,events, wewe knowknow whatwhat eventuallyeventually happened.happened. WithWith thethe treetree covercover removed,removed, rainrain washedwashed thethe nutrientsnutrients throughthrough thethe sandysandy soilssoils andand theythey becamebecame tootoo poorpoor toto supportsupport agriculture.agriculture. TheThe BronzeBronze AgeAge farmers,farmers, victimsvictims ofof anan ecologicalecological changechange theythey themselvesthemselves broughtbrought about,about, leftleft thethe area.area. The Iron Age and Beyond The Iron Age and beyond Towards the end of the Bronze Age and into the Iron Age the climate became Towardscolder and the wetter. end of This the Bronzechange Age could and only into have the encouragedIron Age the heathlandclimate became and colderdiscouraged and wetter. woodland. This change could only have encouraged heathland and discouraged woodland. The Iron Age people settled only in the river valleys. The open heathlands Thecreated Iron byAge a peopleperiod ofsettled Bronze only Age in theexploitation, river valleys. were The to remainopen heathlands largely createduninhabited by a forperiod almost of Bronze 3000 years. Age exploitation, were to remain largely uninhabited for almost 3000 years.

Clearing the Wildwood - farming in the Bronze Age ClearingAs the Bronze the AgeWildwood inhabitants - farming of Dorset in settled the Bronze and developed Age their skills as farmers their Asneed the Bronzeto hunt Ageand inhabitants gather food of lessened.Dorset settled They and were developed no longer their dependent skills as farmers on wild their animals need tofor hunt meat and - theygather kept food their lessened. own sheep They andwere cattle, no longer which dependent also provided on wild milk animals and forcheese. meat - they keptCultivating their own crops sheep enabled and cattle, them which to make also providedtheir own milk bread and - cheese.an unleavened Cultivating loaf crops produced enabled by themgrinding to make wheat their and own barley bread in - aan stone unleavened quern. loafWheat produced may also by grindinghave been wheat mixed and withbarley fruit in anda stonehoney quern. to produce Wheat maya type also of havefruity been beer. mixed with fruit and honey to produce a type of fruity beer. Dominant Heathland Over the last 200 years the Dorset heathlands have been dug up for , gravel and clay, built over, ploughed up and planted with conifers to such an extent that the area would now be almost totally unrecognisable to one of its 19th century inhabitants. But for 2000 years before that there was little change; the uses people made of the heath, the places they chose to live and the landscape itself, all remained the same. The way of life of an 18th century turf cutter would have been much more familiar to someone from the Iron Age than it would to you or me. The Heathland Landscape The earliest maps that record the extent of the dominant heathland are those produced by Isaac Taylor in the mid 18th century (see over). These show that heathland stretched continuously from the to the River Avon, broken only by the valleys of the Rivers Frome, Piddle and Stour. This expanse of heathland (about 100,000 acres) must have changed little since the origin of the heaths in the Bronze Age. The landscape was virtually treeless and ‘covered over hill and dale with heath and fern*’. Gorse (furze) was abundant and holly (holm) occurred in scattered clumps. Grazing the heath was ‘a small breed of sheep whose flesh is allowed to be sweet and well tasted’**, as well as a few cattle and ponies called ‘heath croppers’. They shared the grazing with wild animals that at various times included roe deer, red deer (until 16th century) and * Heather and bracken rabbits (introduced by the Normans). ** Hutchins J. (1861) The History Throughout the period of heathland dominance the local and Antiquities of people made use of the heath in a variety of different the County of Dorset ways. We will first look in detail at these traditional 3rd ed. practices and then consider whether heathland was regarded as ‘waste’ or had a greater value. Heaths for Fuel Heathlands and settlements There were few trees in the area and so little firewood. People therefore relied on the heath for fuel. The heathland area (shaded) is taken from Turf - heather turves provided a splendid general the maps of Isaac Taylor (1759) and had changed purpose fuel. little for 2000 years. The settlements are those Peat - peat was cut in blocks from the bogs. Traces of recorded in the Domesday old peat cuttings can still be seen on aerial photographs Book (1086) but the of old bogs. pattern was probably established much earlier. Furze - gorse provided a quick, hot fire and was used as For several thousand years a specialist fuel, often for heating bread ovens. most people lived on the edges of the heath and in It might take perhaps 4000 turves to keep a house warm the river valleys. for the . Rights to cut turf were called turbary rights. * Hutchins (1861) The Law of Turbary in 1567 defined the legal right to cut turf on a common and was passed at a time when winters were long and cold. Many documents that specify turbary rights survive and they usually state both the number of turves allowed and the particular turf grounds from where they could be taken. The schoolmaster of School, near Wareham, could ‘cut 10,000 turves annually on Stowborough Common’.*This large turf allocation was perhaps related to the size of the schoolhouse; turbary rights in the New Forest averaged between 2000 and 6000 turves a year. Fines were levied if more turf was cut than had been agreed or for other misdemeanours: ‘such furze or turf shall not be cut with any instrument other than a spade or hook under the penalty of ten shillings each offender’.**

** The Court Books of Town dwellers also had rights to turf. The inhabitants of Moreton Manor (1810) Poole could cut turf on the common of Canford. Turf ashes thrown on a dunghill started the fire that destroyed much of Wareham in 1762. Turf continued to be important until the railways made supplies of cheap coal available. Heaths for Grazing The Dorset Heathlands have never supported large numbers of grazing animals compared with the huge flocks of sheep which once grazed the . Most cottagers probably owned a few animals and others belonged to farmers in the adjoining river valleys and . These farmers used the heath for rough grazing which allowed them to reserve their better land for fattening their stock. Often sheep grazed on the heath during the day and were then folded on the meadows or downs at night, thus improving the fertility of the good land at the expense of the heath.

How Turf was Cut ‘Buy borrow or cadge a turf spade and select an area of damp or wet heath (only those who own land or have turbary rights may cut the turf). Cut each turf to a size of two spade widths by one (about 9 x 18ins) and 3/4ins thick. Work along a row, turning the turves over as you go, but for each turf cut, leave two uncut. A chequerboard pattern will result allowing the heath to regenerate quickly (turf grounds may be used again after 7 or more years). Let the turves dry on site for about 3 weeks; a sturdy four-horse cart is recommended for their transport. Store turf in a dry, well-ventilated place. Cut 5000 turves in May, June or July and you will have fuel for the whole winter.’ This pattern of use probably meant that the heaths were The Many Uses of not as intensively grazed as those of say, The New Heathland Forest, although it was necessary to regulate grazing to Furze some extent (rights of common). In 1796 a survey, For animal. carried out because of the threat of a French invasion, fodder. Young found that the were poorly stocked with shoots or gorse cattle and sheep. Although the numerous pounds* in (furze tops) were cut Poole for holding lost livestock show there were enough and allowed to wilt. to cause a problem. Some heaths were still being As a fuel for firing pottery grazed in Poole until WWII. kilns and bread ovens (collected in faggots *Fenced area bound with briar). There were undoubtedly accidental heathland fires but In thatching, to provide a were the heaths regularly burnt to improve the grazing? basic structure over which (The new growth of heather after a fire is more nutritious the thatch was woven. than the older shoots) There is no evidence for regular Fern burning but such events, if commonplace, may not Bracken was collected have been recorded. The earliest record of fire on and used for animal dates from the Bronze Age, found bedding (a under a tumulus. We do not know, therefore, if fire was common and widespread important in maintaining the heath by preventing the use) invasion of trees. But the traditional heathland uses - turf and bracken cutting, grazing - would have had this effect because they removed nutrients from the heath, keeping the soil impoverished and unsuitable for tree In the potash industry. the growth. These practices, together with the fact that ash from burnt bracken is there were few trees to provide seed ensured that rich in potassium. Potash heathland remained dominant for over 2000 years. was extracted from the ash and used in glass and Heathland Industries soap making. Most heathland industries were based on minerals dug from under the heath. The local clays have been exploited since at least the Iron Age, when most of the potteries were along the southern shore of . During the 17th and 18th centuries potteries in the area flourished but before the 19th century the industry was always on a small scale. Sand and gravel were also dug locally and used for ship’s ballast or for roads and tracks. Alum and copperas (used in dyeing) were once made from minerals dug near Black burnished ware (see opposite). was made from local clay on the shores of Poole Harbour and used by the Roman army. Heath The Value of Heathland A staple fuel (heather turves again). The view of heathland as ‘waste’ may have originated with 17th century travellers and writers. For instance, Heather was used as a base for roads and Arthur Young described ‘vast tracts of waste land’* near tracks. Moreton. This attitude has been common ever since but it takes no account of the views of the local users of the The walls of some buildings were made heath. How highly did they value their heathland rights? from heather turves and The townsmen of Poole certainly fought to preserve their heather was used to bind cob walls together. turbary rights when they were threatened. In the 17th century the Earl of Huntingdon enclosed large parts of Beehives were common on heathland the heath to provide turf to fire his alum and copperas and heather honey furnaces, but the townsmen pulled down the fences. The was normally highly case was decided at Chancery and it was not the Earl regarded, though not who won. always, ‘the worse (honey) upon the heath’ New Forest documents show fines imposed for illegal (Warner, ‘History of turf-cutting (a very common offence) and occasionally for ’). burning the heath: ‘Tristam Turgis, gentleman ... on 30th Heather was cut to March 1634… had burned and destroyed fifteen acres of make heath brooms. heathland …Fine £20.’** Also recorded on a few occasions is the actual value of heathland. From the bailwick of Lyndhurst (about 1300) ‘15 acres of marled arable land ... worth 3d an acre ... not marled worth 2d an acre ... 300 acres of heath and open land worth 20s (0.8d an acre)’.** *Young A. (1771) A Thus the traditional uses made of heathland by the local Farmer’s Tour through the people gave the heath a value that, whilst it did not equal that of arable or meadowland, meant that the heath was ** Stagg, D.J. (1983) A far from being ‘waste’. Calendar of New Forest Documents

Using a heath broom (about 1900) Declining Heathland In the mid 18th century was a place on a beach where a small stream ran into the sea. Inland, this stream crossed part of a vast expanse of open heath that stretched from the River Avon to the Purbeck Hills, covering some 150 square miles. Today the same stream runs through Poole and Bournemouth and most of the heath has gone, lost to agriculture, forestry, mineral extraction and finally to urban development. The majority of the remaining heathlands are now managed to protect their rare wildlife. The First Assault The maps of Isaac Taylor produced around 1760 are the starting point of this story for they reveal a landscape much the same, as it had been 2000 years before. Heathland occupied more or less all the land in the Poole Basin save for the fertile river valleys. Yet by the time of the first in 1811/17 a quarter of this heath had already gone :- not all heathland losses are recent. Comparison of these two sets of maps reveals that most of this heath was reclaimed for agriculture, chiefly along the edges of the river valleys. The late 18th century was a prosperous time. Agricultural returns were high so there was pressure on land. Better agricultural techniques, an improving climate and the Napoleonic Wars of 1783-1813 were other important factors that encouraged reclamation. Enclosure played a fundamental part in the history of the heath for it often preceded change, not always to agriculture but to forestry or even urban development. For example, in the enclosure award of 1805, which covered 500 acres of land around Bournemouth, the Commissioners reserved 78 acres for roads, many of which were new or followed old smugglers tracks. These formed a framework for the later development of Bournemouth. But the first effect of the enclosure was that several of the new private owners planted the heath with pine - part of Talbot Heath became . These pines became inextricably linked with Bournemouth’s image when the resort began to expand some half a century later. Enclosure was very popular with the Exchequer for it played a similar role in raising revenue, as does privatisation today. But the commoners and cottagers who depended on the heath for fuel saw things differently. In the case of the 1805 enclosure award, they petitioned the Commissioners at claiming that sufficient land should be set aside to provide turf for all those who had previously held turbary rights. The Commissioners were sympathetic and so over 400 acres were reserved as turf grounds. This provision saved the land from development and was the origin of several parks, including Meyrick Park and Queens Park. Boom and Depression Cycles of boom and depression continued through the 19th century and heaths were reclaimed and then reverted back to heather and gorse accordingly. This was nothing new. The good climate and high population in the 13th century had led to agricultural encroachment on the margins of the heath but poorer weather and the saw the heath come back. Similarly, in the late 19th century many rural poor made their way to the cities and much of the reclaimed land again grew heather. wrote: “in some of the attempts at reclamation from waste, tillage, after holding on for a year or two, had receded again in despair, the ferns and furze tufts stubbornly reasserting themselves”. Despite this the Ordnance Survey of 1896 shows that almost half of the original heath had already been lost. The heathland gains, described above, clearly did not compensate for the losses. Moreover, Bournemouth (population 695 in 1851, 16,000 in 1881) was eating into Poole Heath. Declining Heathland The Twentieth Century The 20th century did not bring new kinds of pressures on heathlands, just an intensification of the same three factors - agriculture, forestry and urbanisation - that had already changed the heath so much. But it was not until after the Second World War that the rate of heathland loss really began to accelerate. By 1960 when Norman Moore undertook the first survey to specifically map heathlands, only a quarter of the original area was left. Moore was also the first to chart the decline of Dorset heaths, a decline that has since become a textbook example of habitat loss, quoted in publications throughout the world. But Moore’s work did nothing to stop the decline. Neither did the establishment of the first heathland nature reserves and the growing recognition of the importance of heathland wildlife. In the 1960s losses occurred faster than ever. An area the size of Canford Heath nature reserve disappeared every year. Less heathland was lost in the 1980s and 1990s, largely because the majority of the most vulnerable areas had already gone. Nevertheless, during the 1980s South Canford Heath became a small town of the same name, and, in 1980, over 100 hectares of land at Horton Common was converted to a low- grade pasture, an event that hit the national headlines. In 200 years, 130 square miles of heath have been lost. While each small plantation, new pony paddock or piece of urban infilling may seem insignificant in itself, the net result of thousands of chances like these has been to reduce the Dorset Heaths to a fraction of their former extent. Heathland Today This corner of Dorset once dominated by a wild and sparsely habited heath, now supports a large conurbation and the largest onshore oilfield in Europe. But while the environmental effects of the oilfield development on the Purbeck Heaths have been monitored in detail from the start, damage on a much greater scale occurs on heaths around Poole and Bournemouth. , Town Common, Upton and Canford Heaths all suffer erosion from illegal motorcycling, rubbish tipping and damaging fires; not until the late 1990s was this type of damage monitored. Heaths can also be lost if nothing is done. Invasive birch, rhododendron and pine will destroy heathland just as surely as more direct damage. Most of the remaining heathland in Dorset is now designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (see back page). This gives some protection against direct development. But as houses and factories more and more surround these heaths, they become the only available open spaces and receive more human pressure, disturbing their rare wildlife. Despite the proximity of Poole and Bournemouth, heaths like Canford and Town Common still harbour a rich variety of wildlife with rare species found in few other places in England. Other large towns and cities would give much to have such special areas on their doorstep. But this heathland heritage is fragile; our past record of looking after it has not been good, but now conservation charities, councils, Forestry Commission, police and fire services are working together to change this.

Forestry on Heathland The prosperous economic climate of the late 18th century led to large scale planting of the heath. For example, the Frampton Estate diaries record the number and species of trees planted at Moreton - 225,205 were planted in 1783 (135,780 Scots Pine), a record, but the average was still over 50,000. Pine was the only successful heathland crop. Maritime Pine, a Mediterranean species, was extensively planted on the heaths around Bournemouth; when the resort expanded it became known as the Bournemouth Pine. The establishment of the Forestry Commission after the First World War began another wave of planting. At one stage there was about the same amount of Commission plantation in the Poole Basin as heathland, but now after pine clearance on their land and others, there is more heath than plantation. Heathland Code The heathland you walk on has been designated for its national wildlife importance. Please help to safeguard local heathlands by following the guidelines below so that the heath and its wildlife are there for you and future generations to enjoy. 1. Walkers - please keep to the main tracks and paths. Walking on the heathland plants damages them and disturbs wildlife. 2. Cyclists and horse riders - please keep to the bridleways or specially marked routes. Cycles and horses can cause serious soil erosion as well as disturb wildlife. 3. Dog owners - please keep your pets under close control. Dogs can disturb grazing livestock and birds, especially during the spring and summer when many nest on the ground. Always follow the “Doggy Do Code” For more information see www.dorsetdogs.org.uk 4. Dog owners - please pick up after your dog and use litter bins where provided. Dog faeces enrich the soil, killing heathland plants, and are a nuisance and health risk to other heathland users. Please follow the “Doggy Do Code”. For more information see www.dorsetdogs.org.uk 5. Please reduce the risk of fire. If you see a fire, notify the fire service immediately giving the exact location. Do not light fires or discard matches or cigarettes. 6. Please take litter home. Litter is unsightly and animals may get trapped and die in drinks cans and bottles. 7. Please do not pick up or remove plants and animals. In some case cases it is an offence to do so. 8. Please shut gates behind you. Unless tied back. Stock may be grazing the heathland.

Adders Whilst on the heath you may come across adders. They are poisonous, but will try to get away when disturbed. However, they may bite when threatened. Dog owners should be particularly careful, keeping pets to paths and tracks. Dorset Heathlands in the Future Heathland The international importance of Dorset Heathlands is contacts recognised, both nationally and internationally. Various of Poole: designations giving differing degrees of protection to areas 01202 261700 with special habitats, and supporting specially protected Bournemouth Borough species exist. These include: Council: 01202 451629 • Special Protection Area (SPA) and Special Area of Conservation (SAC) are European designations & East designed to ensure that habitats especially suitable for Dorset CounciIs: 01425 47072 protected species are conserved. Majority of Poole Basin heathland is an SPA and SAC, which gives it : greater legal protection than SSSI status. 01305 251000 : • Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) is a national 01202 692033 designation by Natural England, the government body Forestry Commission: responsible for nature conservation in England, 0300 067 4600 offering protection to a national series of areas of special nature conservation interest. Introduced in Amphibian & Reptile Conservation Trust: 1949 and incorporated in the 1981 Wildlife and 01202 391319 Countryside Act, SSSI status is given to over 95% of : Dorset heathlands. 01929 452310 • National Nature Reserve (NNR) is a national designation 01202 883402 for some of the country’s top wildlife sites declared by Natural England: and under the direct management of Natural England. 0845 600 3078 It is designed to protect wild plants, animals and nature features and provide opportunities for research. Council: 01929 556561 • Local Nature Reserves (LNR) is a local designation by RSPB Dorset Area local authorities to protect important sites within their Office: 01929 556651 area, which they own, lease or manage with the agreement of the landowner. Urban Heaths Partnership: This publication aims to show the special importance of 01202 642787 Dorset heathlands: long neglected or abused, their Produced by landscape, heritage and wildlife importance is now Borough of Poole realised. Those with influence over the future of heathlands with support through - landowners, managers, conservation bodies, local DEFRA’s Aggregates authorities and the public - bear responsibility for the future Levy Sustainability of a unique habitat and the host of rare species it supports. Fund, Revised 2008 By raising awareness of the value of heathland, its Revised and historical and cultural links and international importance, it reprinted 2015 by is hoped that this irreplaceable local asset can be The Urban Heaths Partnership preserved for future generations to enjoy.