Little France Park Management Plan 2020 – 2030
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Little France Park Management Plan 2020 – 2030 Prepared by; CEC Parks & Greenspace 2020 City of Edinburgh Council Little France Park – Management Plan || 1 Contents Introduction The Site - Little France Park 4 Purpose of the management plan 6 The Management Plan in relation to the wider national 7 and local policy and legislative context Site Significance Site Location 7 Ownership, tenure and responsible Authorities 9 The historic environment / previous land use overview 10 Partnerships 11 Edinburgh Living Landscape Project 12 Habitat Management - Habitats & Wildlife Hedge line Extension 13 Scrub enrichment 15 Wildlife Week / Biodiversity Surveying 16 Square Metre Project (SqM) 17 Grassland Management 18 Bee banks 19 Pollinator strip / enrichment 20 Natural Habitats & Wildlife 20 Neutral Grasslands 22 Reclaimed Grasslands 22 Scrub 23 Protecting trees and woodlands 24 Trees at Little France Park 25 Specimen Trees 26 Mixed deciduous planting 26 Hedges 30 Dutch Elm Disease 32 Ash Die Back 32 Wetlands 34 SUDS 35 Flood Alleviation 35 Watercourses 36 Transects 37 Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS) 39 Infrastructure Active Travel Route 42 Future secondary paths & routes 43 Site features – opportunities 45 Management Objectives To comply with all legal and policy requirements 46 To conserve and enhance the natural environment 46 Little France Park – Management Plan || 2 Preserve and protect protected site features 47 Contribute to research in ecology and natural history 47 Support provision of educational resources and learning 48 Provide information and interpretation on site features 48 Encourage community involvement in conservation 48 Evaluation Marketing and Events 49 Recreational Use 49 Education and Interpretation 50 Access including public transport and parking 51 Safety 51 Sustainability 52 Maintenance Grounds Maintenance 53 Litter 56 Park Quality Assessments (PQA) and Green Flag 56 Operational Objectives Capital Investment Opportunities 57 Ten year work plan 57 Appendices LFP Boundary Map & Informal routes LFP INNS LFP grassland survey – RBGE LFP Management Actions 2020 LFP Wildlife Report & Recommendations (2019) LFP Species recording Wildlife Week (2019) LFP BCF improvements mapping LFP PQA score 2019 (year 1) LFP Core paths and future routes LFP trees - list of species 2019 LFP secondary routes access Wider national and local policy and legislative context Edinburgh Living Landscapes Little France Park – Management Plan || 3 Introduction The Site – Little France Park Little France Park was previously referred to as South East Wedge parkland and is under ownership of City of Edinburgh Council. The context for the South East Wedge Parkland was first established with the approval of the Craigmillar Urban Design Framework (CUDF) in 2005. The CUDF set out that the area should be developed as a significant new strategic park linking with parallel developments in Midlothian1. The development of this new public park allows the City of Edinburgh Council to contribute to a quality greenspace that provides a setting for the EBQ (Edinburgh Bio Quarter) and established and newly developing communities around Craigmillar, Greendykes, Edmondstone, Moredun and Danderhall. The park resides within the NE locality boundary and the Portobello and Craigmillar Ward. Little France Park is approximately 45Ha and lies north and south of Little France Drive, centred on OS grid reference: NT296706. The site runs to the CEC south east boundary at The Wisp adjacent to the Midlothian Council area. To the north west is Hawkhill Wood which forms part of Craigmillar Castle Park. The ERI, Bio Quarter and Edmondstone Estate form the south west boundary and the north east boundary lies on the new development of Greendykes and future housing developments under construction. 1 Fig1. Boundary and main pathway features (Source: ELGT) Little France Park – Management Plan || 4 South East Wedge Parkland Development Principles1 The parkland as a whole will: • Have a clearly defined landscape structure which is designed with future use and low maintenance in mind • Be a visually stimulating environment which provides clear transition between the urban area and Edinburgh’s rural hinterland • Use a limited palette of parkland furniture including benches, signage and footpath surfacing – exceptions to this should be high quality public art • Through its design, walkways and planting, protect views to Craigmillar Castle, Arthur’s Seat and Edinburgh Castle • Maximise biodiversity throughout the design • Promote the interpretation and conservation of the areas important archaeological and historic sites and monuments including the remains of the Edmonstone Estate and the scheduled ancient monument located NE of Home Farm and, • Protect the function of the public transport link, the safetguarded tram route, and complete strategic footpath and cycleway networks The North Meadow (North Slope) should; • Create an attractive setting for the new adjacent buildings at the ERI and housing at Greendykes South • Accommodate flood water storage, and, • Enhance the setting of Craigmillar Castle and its Designed Landscape The South Woods (South Slope) should; • Create a robust and defensible edge to the housing at New Greendykes, the EBQ and the edge of the built up area • Frame views of Craigmillar Castle, Edinburgh Castle and Arthur’s Seat from Edmonstone ridge • Recognise the setting of and highlight the Scheduled Ancient Monument (Prehistoric Domestic and Defensive NE of Home Farm) by use of careful interpretation and a maintenance regime, and • Recognise and protect the Edmondstone estate boundary and remains of Home Farm The Niddrie Burn Corridor should; • Provide space for the Niddrie Burn to flood safely • Create a safe and informal recreational space for the local community, allowing those on both sides of the river to interact • Create a highly valuable wildlife corridor with a variety of hatitats, ensuring that the surveyed otter population and potential water vole population can move freely along the watercourse, and, • Conserve, interpret and enhance historic elements of the burn The supplemental guidance (above) is extracted from the Finalised Edinburgh Bio Quarter and South East Wedge Parkland LDP (2013). In order to comply with the development plan, development proposals and required to adhere to the principles set out in the guidance. In addition, other LDP policies and Action Programme requirements also apply particularly those relating to developer contributions, urban design, landscape and open space in new development. 1 Little France Park – Management Plan || 5 Little France Park is a strategic section of green infrastructure for Edinburgh and the region. Central to the success of Little France Park and the entire redevelopment area is the provision of high quality cycle and active travel routes set within the parkland.2 Note: 1. Finalised Edinburgh Bio Quarter and South East Wedge Parkland LDP (2013) 2. CSGN Integrating Active Travel Routes, Case Study (2016) Purpose of the management plan This site-specific management plan covers the period from 2020 to 2030. It was produced by the City of Edinburgh Council Parks & Greenspace site officer with contributions from ELL (Edinburgh Living Landscape) Partners within the site management group. Over the lifetime of the project other key stakeholders also include; Scottish Enterprise, EDI group, NHS Lothian, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), University of Edinburgh, Forestry Commission Scotland, SUSTRANS. Reference should also be made to other available papers, plans and case studies below; “PARC North Meadows / South Woods Parkland, Feasability study (2012/13)” “Local Development Plan for Edinburgh Bio Quarter and South East Wedge Parkland (2013)” "CSGN Integrating Active Travel Routes (2016)” “Little France Management Framework – Ecology summary with recommendations (2019)” “Little France Park – Wildlife Week, outcomes & species list (2019)” Consultation will be undertaken with ELL partners, key stakeholders and the local community, and has been made available online via CEC Consultation Hub for comment. The plan is intended to offer guidance on all aspects of the management of Little France Park. It is a ten-year plan with a review to be undertaken after five years and annual commitment to carry out the detail of the work plan, subject to commitments of funding and resources. The Management Plan in relation to the wider national and local policy and legislative context See appendices: Wider national and local policy and legislative context for further information on policy and legislation relating to CEC Parks and Greenspace management. Little France Park – Management Plan || 6 Site Significance Site Location OS grid reference: NT296706 (Centre of North and South slopes). Location: Little France Park, (north slope: 55.923015, -3.128567) (south slope: 55.922903, -3.127620) and is located to the south east of the City of Edinburgh, approx. 5.5 miles from the city centre. Little France Park is bounded by arterial routes, Old Dalkeith Road (A7) and The Wisp, and Little France Drive. It is partially surrounded by both established and developing communities at; Edmondstone, The Inch, Craigmillar, Craigour, Moredun, Gilmerton, Niddrie, Greendykes, Danderhall and new housing development at Tobias Street / Milligan Drive / Pringle Drive, Manor Wood, Sandilands. Size: The site is approx 45Ha in size and almost exclusively reclaimed farmland. The north slope is approximately 13Ha and the south slope is approximately 32Ha.