Manchester City Council Item 11 Executive 19 November 2008

MANCHESTER CITY COUNCIL REPORT FOR RESOLUTION

REPORT TO Executive

DATE 19 November 2008

SUBJECT Local Nature Reserve Declaration: Stenner Woods and Millgate Fields

REPORT OF Head of Environmental Services Head of Leisure and Sports

PURPOSE OF REPORT

To seek the approval of the Executive Committee to declare Stenner Woods and Millgate Fields as a Local Nature Reserve.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. To declare the area shown on the location map of Stenner Woods and Millgate Fields ( Appendix1) outlined in red and excluding the building to the west of Millgate Farm at grid reference 384151,389642 as the Stenner Woods and MIllgate Fields Local Nature Reserve.

Financial Consequences for the Revenue Budget

The proposal has no implications for the City Council’s revenue budget.

Financial Consequences for the Capital Budget

The proposal has no implications for the City Council’s capital budget.

Contact Officers

Rachel Christie – Head of Environmental Services 800 4916 [email protected] Eamonn O’Rourke – Head of Leisure and Sports 878 2451 e.o’[email protected] Dave Barlow –Environmental Engagement Manager 878 2755 [email protected] Alex Krause – Mersey Valley Warden Ecologist 881 5639 [email protected] Manchester City Council Item 11 Executive 19 November 2008

Background Documents

The Stenner Woods and Millgate Fields management plans are available from Room 6019 in the Town Hall Extension.

Wards Affected

Didsbury West East

Implications for:

Anti poverty Equal Opportunities Environment Employment No No Yes No Manchester City Council Item 11 Executive 19 November 2008

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 On the 13th April 2005, Executive Committee approved and adopted the Manchester Biodiversity Strategy. Objective 2 within the strategy states that any actions should ‘use a best practice approach when managing for biodiversity’. One of the key ways to achieve this objective is to increase the number of Local Nature Reserves in Manchester. The strategy proposes that further sites be designated as Local Nature Reserves over a five year period.

1.2 There are currently six Local Nature Reserves in Manchester – Chorlton Water Park, Forest, Clayton Vale, Chorlton Ees & Ivy Green, Highfield Country Park and Boggart Hole Clough. Designation has benefited all of these sites and led to increased public usage by both local and regional visitors. These sites have also obtained national recognitions with Natural England and other nature conservation organisations.

2 WHAT ARE LOCAL NATURE RESERVES?

2.1 Local Nature Reserves (LNRs) are sites that contain wildlife and/or geological features that are of special interest locally. Their function is to provide opportunities for people to become involved in the management of their local environment, as well as giving people special opportunities to study, learn or simply enjoy nature.

2.2 Declaring sites as LNRs plays an important role in biodiversity conservation. LNRs will offer many benefits not only to wildlife, but also to the quality of life for the people of Manchester. The benefits of LNRs can be summarised as: -

Protection of wildlife habitats and natural features Increased community awareness and enjoyment of the natural environment through greater involvement Provision of an environment in which people can learn about and study nature Building relationships between local authorities, national and local conservation bodies and local people

2.3 Local authorities have the power to acquire, declare and manage LNRs. To establish a LNR, the local authority must have or must acquire a legal interest in the land. The sites selected so far for designation have been chosen due to their rich flora and fauna and strong “Friends of...” groups. The guidance to declare LNRs is that they should generally be greater than 2ha in size and capable of being managed primarily for nature conservation so that there are special opportunities for study, research or enjoyment of nature. They should also meet one of the following: of high natural interest locally of some reasonable natural interest and of high value locally for formal education or research of some reasonable natural interest and of high value locally for the informal enjoyment of nature by the public

Manchester City Council Item 11 Executive 19 November 2008

2.4 Following on from the Local Quality of Life Indicators published jointly by the Audit Commission, DEFRA and ODPM in August 2005, Natural England recommends that people living in towns and cities should have statutory LNRs provided at a minimum level of 1 ha per 1,000 population. The reason for this is to try to ensure that all communities have reasonable access to natural environments near to where they live. Manchester’s target is approximately 440 ha. The designation of Stenner Woods and Millgate Fields will increase our coverage from 256.8 ha to 306.8 ha.

3 STENNER WOODS & MILLGATE FIELDS

3.1 Stenner Woods and Millgate Fields are neighbouring sites, managed by the Mersey Valley Warden Service since 1978. It is for this reason that these sites are being designated as one local nature reserve.

3.2 Stenner Woods and Millgate Fields comprise a variety of habitats, including woodland, mature plantation coppices, grasslands, ponds and ditches. Stenner Woods is classified as a grade B Site of Biological Importance as it contains a rich area of wet woodland that is an UK priority habitat. Other habitats include open water and marshy grasslands. A variety of breeding birds have been recorded and breeding frogs, toads and newts are also present.

3.2 The Friends of Fletcher Moss have been very active in raising the sites profile and many volunteer days have been spent working on a variety of practical nature conservation projects. They are in full support of the designation.

3.4 The site has an agreed five-year management plan ensuring a long-term commitment for improved management and maintenance of the site. One of the main aims within the plan is to ‘seek local nature reserve designation’.

4 THE FUTURE

4.1 The designation of LNR status for Millgate Fields & Stenner Woods would help to establish the long-term maintenance and raise the profile of both sites. These designations will also offer opportunities for funding as it reinforces Manchester’s commitment to nature conservation and recreation.

4.2 Natural England has confirmed their informal support for the declaration of the LNR status. If the Executive approves the declarations, the management plans will be referred to Natural England for formal consultation. These sites will, at the earliest opportunity, be marked as LNRs on the revised Local Development Plan for the City of Manchester.

Manchester City Council Item 11 - Appendix 1 Executive 19 November 2008