VINTERS PARK NATURE RESERVE SILT LAGOON Preliminary Ecological Appraisal
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Kent County Council KENT MEDICAL CAMPUS TO M20 J7 IMPROVEMENTS: VINTERS PARK NATURE RESERVE SILT LAGOON Preliminary Ecological Appraisal MAY 2021 PUBLIC Kent County Council KENT MEDICAL CAMPUS TO M20 J7 IMPROVEMENTS: VINTERS PARK NATURE RESERVE SILT LAGOON Preliminary Ecological Appraisal TYPE OF DOCUMENT (VERSION) PUBLIC PROJECT NO. 70040984 DATE: MAY 2021 PUBLIC Kent County Council KENT MEDICAL CAMPUS TO M20 J7 IMPROVEMENTS: VINTERS PARK NATURE RESERVE SILT LAGOON Preliminary Ecological Appraisal WSP 4th Floor 6 Devonshire Square London EC2M 4YE Phone: +44 20 7337 1700 Fax: +44 20 7337 1701 WSP.com PUBLIC QUALITY CONTROL Issue/revision First issue Revision 1 Revision 2 Revision 3 Remarks Date May 2021 Prepared by Joel Rowlands Digitally signed by Joyce, Paul (UKPXJ022) DN: cn=Joyce, Paul (UKPXJ022), ou=Active, [email protected] Signature Reason: pp signing for the author, Joel Rowlands Date: 2021.05.27 14:23:31 +01'00' Checked by Paul Joyce Digitally signed by Joyce, Paul (UKPXJ022) DN: cn=Joyce, Paul (UKPXJ022), ou=Active, [email protected] Signature Reason: I have reviewed this document Date: 2021.05.27 14:23:01 +01'00' Authorised by Adrian Hutchings Digitally signed by Kirby, Dave (UKDRK600) DN: cn=Kirby, Dave (UKDRK600), ou=Active, [email protected] Reason: Signing on behalf of Signature Adrian Hutchings Date: 2021.05.28 08:07:16 +01'00' Project number 70040984 Report number File reference \\uk.wspgroup.com\central data\Projects\700409xx\70040984 - Kent Medical Campus to M20 J7\D Design & Analysis\Ecology\Attenuation Pond - Nature Reserve\PEA - 2021\Report Vinters Park Nature Reserve Silt Lagoon PUBLIC | WSP Project No.: 70040984 May 2021 Kent County Council CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION 2 1.1 PROJECT BACKGROUND 2 1.2 ECOLOGICAL BACKGROUND 2 1.3 SCOPE OF REPORT 2 1.4 RELEVANT LEGISLATION AND POLICY 3 2 METHODS 4 2.1 OVERVIEW 4 2.2 DESK STUDY 4 2.3 HABITAT SURVEY 5 2.4 PROTECTED SPECIES ASSESSMENT 6 2.5 NOTES AND LIMITATIONS 6 3 RESULTS 7 3.1 DESIGNATED SITES 7 3.2 HABITAT SURVEY 8 3.3 PROTECTED AND NOTABLE SPECIES ASSESSMENT 11 4 DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 15 4.1 STATUTORY DESIGNATED SITES 15 4.2 NON-STATUTORY DESIGNATED SITES 15 4.3 HABITATS 15 4.4 PROTECTED AND NOTABLE SPECIES 16 4.5 ECOLOGICAL ENHANCEMENT OPPORTUNITIES 24 5 CONCLUSIONS 25 6 REFERENCES 26 KENT MEDICAL CAMPUS TO M20 J7 IMPROVEMENTS: Vinters Park Nature Reserve Silt Lagoon PUBLIC | WSP Project No.: 70040984 May 2021 Kent County Council 7 FIGURES 28 TABLES Table 1 – Statutory designated sites 7 Table 2 – Local Wildlife Sites and Roadside Nature Reserves 8 Table 3 – Phase 1 habitat areas 9 Table 4 – Key Ecological Constraints - Avoidance, Mitigation and Compensation Measures 21 FIGURES Figure 1 – Site Location 28 Figure 2 – Statutory and Non-statutory designated sites 2km 28 Figure 3 – Habitats of Principal Importance and Ancient Woodland within 500m 28 Figure 4 – Phase 1 Habitat Survey 28 APPENDICES LEGISLATION AND POLICY CONTEXT DESK STUDY DATA PLANT SPECIES RECORDED PHOTOGRAPHS TARGET NOTES KENT MEDICAL CAMPUS TO M20 J7 IMPROVEMENTS: Vinters Park Nature Reserve Silt Lagoon PUBLIC | WSP Project No.: 70040984 May 2021 Kent County Council EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Kent County Council (KCC) intends to construct new attenuation and settling lagoons adjacent to Vinters Valley Nature Reserve (hereafter referred to as the ‘Proposed Development’), forming part of wider work associated with highway improvements between Kent Medical Campus and the M20 J7. The lagoons are required to buffer drainage flows coming from Bearsted Road to the north and prevent flooding within the nature reserve to the south. The footprint of the lagoons associated compounds, access, and laydown areas are here after referred to as the ‘Site’ WSP were commissioned by KCC to complete a Preliminary Ecological Appraisal for the Proposed Development, comprising a desk study to collate readily-available baseline information on designated sites, habitats and protected/notable species, as well as an extended Phase 1 habitat survey of the Site and its immediate surroundings to identify habitats and their suitability to support protected species. North Downs Woodlands Special Area of Conservation and Wouldham to Delting Escarpment Site of Specific Scientific Interest are approximately 2km from the Site; the Proposed Development is considered unlikely to cause significant effects to these sites. The Site falls partly within the Vinters Valley Nature Reserve. The Proposed Development will affect habitats of ecological importance including grasslands and a hedgerow. In order to maintain the nature conservation value of these habitats in line with planning policy, it is recommended that vegetation clearance and habitat removal is kept to the minimum required to facilitate construction work. Good practice construction methods are proposed to protect Habitat of Principle Importance near to the Site. Habitats within the Site are considered suitable for badger, bats, hazel dormice, birds, reptiles, great created newts and invertebrates. Due to the size and nature of the Proposed Development, with sufficient data already being available from previous ecological studies and conclusions made through the desk study exercise, no additional survey efforts in relation to the ecological features are recommended. Specific assessment and work to devise mitigation strategies for tree roosting bats and reptiles have been completed for the Site in 2020. Methods within these documents should be adhered to prior to and during the construction phase of the Proposed Development. In addition, the drafting of additional Precautionary Method of Works document has been recommended to ensure legislative and policy compliance in relation to the potential effects upon ecological features. A biodiversity net gain assessment has been recommended and specific ecological enhancement appropriate to the Proposed Development would need to be put in place through the post- construction landscape design to achieve this. KENT MEDICAL CAMPUS TO M20 J7 IMPROVEMENTS: Vinters Park Nature Reserve Silt Lagoon PUBLIC | WSP Project No.: 70040984 May 2021 Kent County Council Page 1 of 28 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 PROJECT BACKGROUND 1.1.1. WSP UK Ltd. was commissioned by Kent County Council (KCC) to undertake a Preliminary Ecological Appraisal (PEA) for the construction of new attenuation and settling lagoons adjacent to Vinters Valley Nature Reserve (hereafter referred to as the ‘Proposed Development’). These works are associated with wider development proposals for highway improvements between Kent Medical Campus and the M20 J7 (the KMC scheme). The lagoons are required to buffer drainage flows coming from Bearsted Road to the north and prevent flooding within the nature reserve to the south. 1.2 ECOLOGICAL BACKGROUND 1.2.1. The footprint of the lagoons and associated compounds, access and laydown areas (hereafter the ‘Site’) covers approximately 0.37ha. The Site is located in a semi-rural location on the outskirts of Maidstone. The grounds of Vinters Park Crematorium are present in the immediate surroundings of the Site and woodland, public amenity green spaces and residential housing found further afield, industrial units and retail parks are also present. The Site is bounded by Bearsted Road and New Cut Road with the M20 present within the wider landscape. This PEA assesses habitats immediately surrounding the Site, this area is hereafter referred to as the ‘Survey Area’. The Site and Survey Area locations are shown in Figure 1. 1.2.2. Previous survey, assessment and reporting has been completed for the Proposed Development including the following; A Preliminary Roost Assessment for bats, completed in February 2020 (WSP, 2020a). A Reptile Mitigation and Precautionary Method Statement drafted in May 2020 (WSP, 2020a). In addition, survey, assessment, and reporting have been completed for the KMC scheme and this includes the following; A Preliminary Ecological Appraisal, completed in March 2018 (WSP, 2018a). An Ecological Mitigation Plan, completed in October 2018 (WSP, 2018b). 1.2.3. This previous work identified ecological constraints in relation to the Proposed Development. The current report provides an update to the previously reported data. Where appropriate, data from previous reports has been incorporated within this PEA. 1.3 SCOPE OF REPORT 1.3.1. KCC commissioned WSP to complete a Preliminary Ecological Appraisal (PEA) of the Site in May 2021. The brief was: to provide baseline ecological information about the Site and a surrounding study areas with particular reference to whether legally protected and/or notable sites, species or habitats are present or likely to be present; to provide recommendations to enable compliance with relevant nature conservation legislation and planning policy; and if necessary, to identify the need for avoidance, mitigation, compensation or enhancement measures and/or further ecological surveys. KENT MEDICAL CAMPUS TO M20 J7 IMPROVEMENTS: Vinters Park Nature Reserve Silt Lagoon PUBLIC | WSP Project No.: 70040984 May 2021 Kent County Council Page 2 of 28 1.4 RELEVANT LEGISLATION AND POLICY 1.4.1. The appraisal has been compiled with reference to the following relevant nature conservation legislation, planning policy and the UK Biodiversity Framework from which the protection of sites, habitats and species is derived in England. The context and applicability of each item is explained as appropriate in the relevant sections of the report and additional details are presented in Appendix A.