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Heritage 220 Q4 2015
www.loughboroughnats.org No. 220 1 October - 31 December 2015 Editorial Panel: Helen Ikin, Steve Woodward, Jim Graham. Hon. Secretary: Sue Graham, 5 Lychgate Close, Cropston, Leics. LE7 7HU (0116-2366474) CLASSIFIED RECORDS The original records from which Heritage is compiled will no longer be archived at the Leicestershire and Rutland Environmental Records Centre, County Hall. The committee is looking for a new home for them. MAMMALS Several members have sent in Hedgehog sightings this quarter, one was reported to HB by a gardener in Spinney Hill Park in November, the first there for several years; SFW had fresh droppings in his Groby garden on 11 October; one was photographed in the garden on a trail camera on 23 & 24 October, and one was crossing a road in Groby on 1 November about 9 pm. PJD had droppings in her Quorn garden on 13 and 27 October, TB had one sleeping in her hedgehog house in Quorn but it was not in hibernation as it was not always in the house IN THIS EDITION and was seen in the garden in the first week of January. HI had one in her Woodhouse garden – CLASSIFIED RECORDS snapped by a trail camera on the night of 5 October. A small one and a larger one, who Ÿ Mammals Page 1 weighed in at 640 g, came for food several nights Ÿ between early October and 12 November. A Birds Page 2 neighbour in Woodhouse had one or two different Ÿ ones visiting her garden. Hedgehogs seem to have Reptiles, Amphibians & Fish Page 5 been late going into hibernation – the weather was mild in late autumn. -
Reusable Templates for the Extraction of Knowledge
Reusable templates for the extraction of knowledge by Paul J Palmer A Doctoral Thesis Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy of Loughborough University © Paul J Palmer 2020 November 2020 Abstract ‘Big Data’ is typically noted to contain undesirable imperfections that are usually described using terminology such as ‘messy’, ‘untidy’ or ‘ragged’ requiring ‘cleaning’ as preparation for analysis. Once the data has been cleaned, a vast amount of literature exists exploring how best to proceed. The use of this pejorative terminology implies that it is imperfect data hindering analysis, rather than recognising that the encapsulated knowledge is presented in an inconvenient state for the chosen analytical tools, which in turn leads to a presumption about the unsuitability of desktop computers for this task. As there is no universally accep- ted definition of ‘Big Data’ this inconvenient starting state is described hereas‘nascent data’ as it carries no baggage associated with popular usage. This leads to the primary research question: Can an empirical theory of the knowledge extraction process be developed that guides the creation of tools that gather, transform and analyse nascent data? A secondary pragmatic question follows naturally from the first: Will data stakeholders use these tools? This thesis challenges the typical viewpoint and develops a theory of data with an under- pinning mathematical representation that is used to describe the transformation of data through abstract states to facilitate manipulation and analysis. Starting from inconvenient ‘nascent data’ which is seen here as the true start of the knowledge extraction process, data are transformed to two further abstract states: data sensu lato used to describe informally defined data; and data sensu stricto, where the data are all consistently defined, in a process which imbues data with properties that support manipulation and analysis. -
The Rove Beetles of Leicestershire and Rutland
LEICESTERSHIRE ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY The Rove Beetles (Staphylinidae) of Leicestershire and Rutland Part 1: Sub-families Paederinae, Pseudopsinae and Staphylininae Derek A. Lott Creophilus maxillosus (Graham Calow) LESOPS 24 (2011) ISSN 0957 – 1019 Correspondence: 5 Welland Road, Barrow upon Soar, LE12 8NA VC55 Staphylinids Part 1 2 Introduction With over 56,000 described species in the world, the Staphylinidae are the largest family in the animal kingdom (Grebennikov & Newton, 2009). Around a quarter of the British beetles are rove beetles, so they represent an important component of biodiversity in Britain. However, because of perceived difficulties in their identification, they have not received the attention that they merit. This paper aims to play a part in redressing that imbalance by listing all reliable records from Leicestershire and Rutland for the different species and analysing which species have declined locally over 100 years of recording rove beetles and which have prospered. The subfamilies treated in this first part include the largest and most conspicuous species in the family. The geographical area covered is the vice county of Leicestershire and Rutland (VC55). Some records from adjacent banks of the River Soar that technically lie in Nottinghamshire are also included. These records can be distinguished by the use of Nottinghamshire parish names. Identification Staphylinidae can be easily recognised among beetles in the field by their short wing cases that leave five or six segments of the abdomen exposed and flexible. In fact they look more like earwigs than other beetles. For identification to species, all the members of the subfamilies in this part will be covered by the forthcoming Royal Entomological Society handbook to Staphylinidae parts 6 and 7 due for publication in 2011. -
North West Leicestershire Draft Local Plan Background Paper 11
NORTH WEST LEICESTERSHIRE DRAFT LOCAL PLAN BACKGROUND PAPER 11 Policy En1: Nature Conservation 1 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 This is one of a number of background papers which have been published to support the draft Local Plan. The purpose of these papers is to provide more information in support of Policy En1 (Nature Conservation) than can be included in the draft Local Plan document itself if it is to remain of a manageable size. 2.0 THE POLICY 2.1 Policy En1 seeks to minimise the potential impacts of development on areas of biodiversity importance and, where possible, achieve net gains in biodiversity. Policy En3: Nature Conservation (1) Proposals for development will be supported which conserve, restore or enhance the biodiversity in the district. (2) Where a proposal for development would result in significant harm to one of the following and which cannot be avoided, or mitigated or compensated for, then planning permission will be refused: Special Areas of Conservation (SAC); Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) Local and Regionally Important Geodiversity Sites (RIGS)and candidate Regionally Important Geodiversity Sites (cRIGS) Local Wildlife Sites (LWSs), Local Nature Reserves (LNRs) and candidate Local Wildlife Sites (cLWSs) which meet the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland LWS criteria; Local and National Biodiversity Action Plan-related (BAP) priority habitats; River corridors; Irreplaceable habits (defined as Ancient woodlands; Mature plantation or secondary woodland; Species –rich ancient hedgerows; Ancient or veteran trees; Species –rich neutral grassland; Acid grassland and heath grassland; Dry and wet heathland; Bogs and Sphagnum pools and Rock outcrops) (3) New development will be expected to maintain existing ecological networks , hotspots and landscape features (such as water courses and waterways, disused railway lines, hedgerows and tree lines) for biodiversity, as well as for other green infrastructure and recreational uses. -
Heritage 211 Q3 2013
No. 211 1 July - 30 September 2013 Editorial Panel: Helen Ikin, Steve Woodward, Jim Graham. Hon. Sec. Judy Johnson, 27 Sandalwood Road, Loughborough, Leics. LE11 3PR (01509-214711) IVY Hedera helix - A PLANT FOR ALL SEASONS Ivy, our only evergreen native climbing plant, is well known to butterfly enthusiasts as being the second generation food plant of the Holly Blue larvae but I suspect far fewer appreciate its importance to large numbers of moth species such as The Chestnut, Dark Chestnut, Dark Sword-grass, Tawny Pinion, Green-brindled Crescent, The Satellite and Red-line Quaker. It is also one of two main larval food plants of an attractive little geometer moth, the Yellow-barred Brindle, whose other main food plant is the Holly - like the Holly Blue! Ivy also provides important winter hibernating cover for The Brimstone, The Peacock and numerous other insect species. It gives protection to hibernating insects and roosting birds in the worst of the winter's weather when the countryside becomes a wind-swept, hostile place to all living organisms and when decent shelter can make all the difference between life and death to creatures fighting to stay alive and doing their best to avoid being blown into oblivion! Like many another conservation-minded person, I guess, I went through a phase in my life when I thought that Ivy growing on trees was a bad thing and should therefore be prevented by cutting IN THIS EDITION CLASSIFIED RECORDS Ÿ Mammals Page 2 Ÿ Birds Page 3 Ÿ Reptiles and Amphibians Page 7 Ÿ Fish Page 8 Ÿ Butterflies Page 9 Ivy © Stephen Woodward Ÿ Moths Page 13 through the stems - how dangerous a little Ÿ Beetles Page 15 knowledge can be! With the passage of time and more knowledge, I now realise that Ivy is Ÿ Other Insects Page 18 ecologically one of our most important native plant Ÿ species and often more important than some of Plants and Ferns Page 22 the tree species up which it climbs for support. -
A Review of Freshwater Fish in Leicestershire and Rutland by Andrew Heaton, County Recorder for Fish, 2013
A Review of Freshwater Fish in Leicestershire and Rutland By Andrew Heaton, County Recorder for Fish, 2013 1. Introduction 1.1 The Historic View Lacking the trout-haunted chalk streams or salmon-spawning upland rivers, Leicestershire and Rutland (L&R) have tended to be little regarded in fishery terms. Even the main coarse rivers (Soar, Welland) were not seen as measuring up to the Severn or Thames. In “The Compleat Angler”, Izaak Walton’s only reference to Leicestershire is to name it as one of the counties through which the Trent flows (forming the county boundary for a relatively short distance near Castle Donington). 1.2 Previous Studies There appear to have been few previous reviews or studies of fish populations related specifically to Leicestershire and/or Rutland. Browne (1889) listed L&R’s fish (also including details of fossil fish from the two counties). The wording used in the 1889 document was repeated almost exactly in Browne’s contribution to the Victoria County History (1907), though there is differentiation of River and Brook Lamprey in the 1889 publication, a distinction that was slightly confused in the VCH. Through the 20th Century, fish surveys were undertaken by the various water authorities, providing the information relevant to Leicestershire and Rutland mapped in Maitland (1972) and Davies et al (2004). Onions (2008, 2009) gave an overview of Leicestershire fish. 1.3 Recording Fish Whilst the bulk of fish surveys are undertaken by Environment Agency (EA) fisheries teams, utilising techniques such as netting and electrofishing, other people are recording fish and generating distribution maps. -
Heritage 204 Q4 2011
No. 204 1 October - 31 December 2011 Editorial Panel: Helen Ikin, Steve Woodward, Jim Graham. Hon. Sec. Judy Johnson, 27 Sandalwood Road, Loughborough, Leics. LE11 3PR (01509-214711) SOME CONCERNS ABOUT FEEDING BIRDS IN GARDENS AND FEEDING STATIONS During recent years most of us have grown to believe that the feeding of birds in our gardens and at feeding stations in the countryside is an important conservation activity benefiting many small bird species but there is undoubtedly a downside to this activity. In attracting birds into our gardens or assembling them together at feeding stations, we are subjecting them to an increased risk of predation from Sparrowhawks and, in gardens, also from predation by the huge domestic cat population. IN THIS EDITION Sparrowhawks must find numbers of busily feeding birds easy prey as they perform their characteristic CLASSIFIED RECORDS surprise attacks around trees, shrubs and buildings. There is also a real danger from lethal bird Ÿ Mammals Page 2 diseases contracted from unclean bird-tables and feeders, something much more likely nowadays Ÿ Birds Page 3 when the super abundance of food offered and reduced numbers of many species ensures that Ÿ Fish Page 6 some food remains uneaten for long periods, in which time it can get wet and polluted with Ÿ Reptiles and Amphibians Page 6 droppings. Up until about the 1980’s food put out on bird-tables in my parish of Quorn was quickly Ÿ Dragonflies & Damselflies Page 6 consumed and what wasn’t eaten by the local garden birds soon disappeared when flocks of Ÿ Grasshoppers and Bushcrickets Page 7 hungry Starlings descended into the garden, but now food can remain on the bird-table uneaten for days, if not weeks. -
A9: Drainage and Wastewater Management Plan 2018
A9: Drainage and Wastewater Management Plan 2018 Contents 1. Introduction 3 2. Future pressures 4 3. Approach – planning for the future 5 4. Our planning tools 6 5. Defining our planning boundaries 8 6. Risk based catchment screening 10 7. Conclusion and next steps 18 APPENDICES A Strategic Planning Areas 20 B Tactical Planning Areas 109 C Catchment Plans 150 2 1.0 INTRODUCTION We are developing our first Drainage and Wastewater Management Plan Every day we drain over 2.7 billion litres of wastewater from our customers’ properties. We then treat this water at our wastewater treatment work before returning the cleaned water back to the environment. Our wastewater system consists of over 94,000km of sewers and drains, 4400 pumping stations and 1010 treatment works. This system has to continue to operate effectively day in day out but also needs to be able to cope with future pressures and this is where our Drainage and Wastewater Management Plan comes in. Our Drainage and Wastewater Management Plan will cover the investments we plan to make over the next 5 year period, 2020 to 2025, as well setting out a long term (25 year) strategy for how we are going to deliver a reliable and sustainable wastewater service. The first full publication of Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans (DWMPs) is not scheduled until 2022/23. We have chosen to provide a draft of our initial findings to: support the strategic investments we are proposing for AMP7; demonstrate our commitment to long term, sustainable, wastewater planning; and, provide an early benchmark to support and encourage the sector in development of DWMPs - in keeping with our position as a sector leader and innovator. -
Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Biodiversity Action Plan
Leicester, Leicestershire &Rutland BAP 2016-2016 Local Biodiversity Action Plan Floodplain wetland Action plan objectives • Create new floodplain wetland in the Soar, Wreake, Welland and Trent valleys • To maintain all existing floodplain wetland sites • Compile and maintain register of sites of local BAP quality Introduction River floodplains are important for wildlife. They encompass a range of wetland habitats including old sections of river, cut-off from the main channel and often surrounded by trees, especially willows Salix spp., marshy ground caused by the water table being at or near the surface, flooded gravel pits, wet woodland, drainage ditches along field margins, field ponds, the river channel and reedbeds. The river channel, wet woodland, reedbed and field pond habitats are covered by separate action plans. The largest areas of floodplain wetland habitat in Leicestershire and Rutland are associated with the Soar, Trent and Wreake valleys and to a lesser extent are also found along the Welland and other, smaller, rivers and brooks. Current extent A desktop Inventory was compiled in 2005 for Leicestershire County Council by Derek Lott, identifying 259 sites (see attached map). Data was collated from 3 sources: SINC [now called LWS] schedules; the Wildlife Trust’s Phase 1 survey data; and wetland beetle records held by the County 83 Leicester, Leicestershire &Rutland BAP 2016-2016 Recorder (at the time, this was Derek Lott at the time). There is also reference to a survey of the Welland from the Northamptonshire Wildlife Trust. The sites cover 107 hectares. Derek concludes that the habitat is under-represented in the Inventory, due to the lack of recent survey information along watercourses. -
LESOPS 25 Lott Et Al
2 A Provisional Atlas of the Carabidae of Leicestershire & Rutland Derek Lott, Graham Finch & Gareth Price LESOPS 25 (2011) ISSN 0957 - 1019 A collaborative publication from The Leicestershire & Rutland Environmental Resources Centre and The Leicestershire Entomological Society 3 FOREWORD In the spring of 2009, Derek Lott, Graham Finch & Gareth Price embarked on the production of this atlas. The idea of the atlas was the brainchild of Graham Finch, who had attended a ground beetle training course and became well aware of the need for a VC55 distribution atlas. In July 2009 a very simple first draft was produced. Derek Lott and Graham Finch scrutinized the first draft. A number of important issues needed consideration, such as taxonomic changes, the classification of sites, obtaining accurate grid references and the removal of invalid species records falsely recorded in Leicestershire and Rutland. Derek Lott provided Carabidae context to some sites in the gazetteer as well as providing species context. The production of this atlas was made much easier by the life-long work of Derek Lott, who had already accumulated vast amounts of ground beetle data and local knowledge, without which this atlas would not have been possible. Special thanks go the Carabidae recorders who have sent in records. We have endeavoured to reference and acknowledge the people and sources that have helped in the production of this atlas but often with natural history publications there are too many people to thank over a very long period of time. Our apologies go to the people or sources that have been inadvertently omitted. The gazetteer obtained information from a number of sources, in particular the Flora of Leicestershire (Primavesi & Evans, 1988) and the Flora of Rutland (Messenger, 1971). -
Heritage 202 Q2 2011
No. 202 1 April – 30 June 2011 Editorial Panel: Helen Ikin, Steve Woodward, Jim Graham. Hon. Sec. Judy Johnson, 27 Sandalwood Road, Loughborough, Leics. LE11 3PR (01509-214711) CLASSIFIED RECORDS A dead Pygmy Shrew was found in J & CG’s Holwell garden and another dead shrew, yet to MAMMALS be identified, on a path at Grace Dieu. Five members have seen Hedgehogs, ATO Only one report of a bat was received this has two visiting his Loughborough garden, the quarter, from HS at Quorn where one was larger one has blond spikes with two brown circling the garden in early May. patches. GF has had as many as three regularly visiting his Scraptoft garden, DAP saw a medium IN THIS EDITION specimen on the road verge in Quorn at about 4 pm on 9 May and one triggered a security light in Groby. CLASSIFIED RECORDS The only squashed Hedgehog was near Ÿ Lount. HB remarks that he rarely sees dead Mammals Page 1 Hedgehogs now as he cycles around Leicester and east Leicestershire and wonders of they are Ÿ Birds Page 2 becoming smarter or scarcer? Ÿ Reptiles and Amphibians Page 8 Molehills were noted throughout the quarter at Swithland and also recorded at Ÿ Fish Page 8 Bradgate, Peckleton, Grace Dieu and in Bob’s Closs behind the Community Centre at Ÿ Dragonflies and Damselflies Page 9 Thringstone. Ÿ Rabbits were plentiful and healthy in Grasshoppers and Bushcrickets Page 10 Swithland and other sightings came from New Ÿ Lount, Sheet Hedges Wood and Prestwold Hall, Butterflies Page 10 Quorn, Wymondham, Woodhouse and around the nature reserves at Holwell. -
Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland Gypsy and Traveller Needs Assessment Refresh
Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland Gypsy and Traveller Needs Assessment Refresh Report February 2013 By De Montfort University Leicester Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment Refresh February 2013 Page i EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Introduction and methodology This report aims to update the Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment (GTAA) undertaken for the Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland authorities and published in 2007. The GTAA in 2007 is a robust and extensive piece of work which this report does not seek to replace, but instead offers up-to-date primary research findings to refresh the evidence base on need for Gypsy and Traveller sites in the area. The study is for the Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland authorities, but it must be noted that Rutland council and Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council undertook their own separate GTAA studies and are not, therefore, included in this report; those councils will separately be able to advise on the need identified in their own GTAAs. Eighty-seven (87) surveys were undertaken with Gypsies and Travellers in the study area (excepting Rutland and Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council) representing just under 20% of the estimated population of 468 families. The methodology also included interviews with 48 stakeholders across the authorities and partner agencies, as well as desk-top review of existing data such as planning permissions and unauthorised encampments. Key findings Since the 2007 GTAA was published there has been a mixed response by councils with some local authorities meeting the recommended provision of pitches, while others have had seemingly little progress. The majority of survey respondents were Romany Gypsy (75%), with Irish Travellers representing 14%, Showmen were 5%; those defining as both English and Irish were 2% and New Travellers 1% of the survey population.