Preliminary Ecological Appraisal South Carnforth
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LANCASTER SITE ALLOCATION – SOUTH CARNFORTH PRELIMINARY ECOLOGICAL APPRAISAL SOUTH CARNFORTH, LANCASTER Provided for: Lancaster City Council Date: February 2016 Provided by: The Greater Manchester Ecology Unit Clarence Arcade Stamford Street Ashton-under-Lyne Tameside OL6 7PT Tel: 0161 342 4409 LSA – 4 FEBRUARY 2016 LANCASTER SITE ALLOCATION – SOUTH CARNFORTH QUALITY ASSURANCE Author Suzanne Waymont MCIEEM Checked By Stephen Atkins Approved By Derek Richardson Version 1.0 Draft for Comment Reference LSA - 4 The survey was carried out in accordance with the Phase 1 habitat assessment methods (JNCC 2010) and Guidelines for Preliminary Ecological Appraisal (CIEEM 2013). All works associated with this report have been undertaken in accordance with the Code of Professional Conduct for the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management. (www.cieem.org.uk) LSA – 3 FEBRUARY 2016 LANCASTER SITE ALLOCATION – SOUTH CARNFORTH CONTENTS SUMMARY 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 SURVEY BRIEF 1.2 SITE LOCATION & PROPOSAL 1.3 PERSONNEL 2 LEGISLATION AND POLICY 3 METHODOLOGY 3.1 DESK STUDY 3.2 FIELD SURVEY 3.3 SURVEY LIMITATIONS 4 BASELINE ECOLOGICAL CONDITIONS 4.1 DESKTOP SEARCH 4.2 SURVEY RESULTS 5 ECOLOGICAL CONSTRAINTS – IMPLICATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS 6 CONCLUSIONS REFERENCES APPENDIX 1 – DATA SEARCH RESULTS APPENDIX 2 – DESIGNATED SITES APPENDIX 3 – BIOLOGICAL HERITAGE SITES LSA – 3 FEBRUARY 2016 LANCASTER SITE ALLOCATION – SOUTH CARNFORTH SUMMARY • A Preliminary Ecological Appraisal was commissioned by Lancaster City Council to identify possible ecological constraints that could affect the development of 8 sites and areas currently being considered as new site allocations under its Local Plan. This report looks at one of these sites: South Carnforth. • An ecological data search was undertaken of records held by the Local Record Centre for Lancashire, LERN, together with additional sources such as the Magic website. • An Extended Phase 1 Habitat Survey of the site was undertaken on 14th January 2016 by two members of the Greater Manchester Ecology Unit. An assessment was also made of the potential of the site to support protected and priority species. • The proposed site allocation lies within 2km of Morecambe Bay SPA/SAC/Ramsar Site/SSSI. A HRA will be required for this proposed allocation • The site lies within 100m of Thwaite House Moss SSSI and 300m of Crag Bank SSSI. It also lies within the SSSI Impact Risk Zone for Warton Crag. It is recommended that Ecological Impact Assessments are undertaken on any proposals that come forward, particularly in relation to Thwaite House Moss. • There are 22 Biological Heritage Sites within 2km, including 2 within it and 2 directly adjacent. Further surveys are required in these areas. The BHS site may also offer biodiversity enhancement opportunities. • The other areas of the site allocation support agriculturally improved grassland of limited ecological value. However the boundary features and adjacent habitats have ecological value. Further habitat surveys are required to fully assess this interest. • The proposed site allocation also has the potential to support protected species including bats, great crested newt and breeding birds. Additional surveys will also be required for these species before any detailed planning proposals can be brought forward. • There are significant ecological constraints associated with this allocation. LSA – 3 FEBRUARY 2016 LANCASTER SITE ALLOCATION – SOUTH CARNFORTH 1 INTRODUCTION The Greater Manchester Ecology Unit (GMEU) was commissioned by Lancaster City Council in November 2015 to identify possible ecological constraints that could affect the development of 8 sites and areas currently being considered as new site allocations under its Local Plan. This report looks at one of these sites: South Carnforth. 1.1 SURVEY BRIEF The work commission involved: • Desktop surveys for any existing ecological information relating to the sites and areas, particularly concerning the presence of specially protected sites or species. • A ‘walkover’ site survey and appraisal. • The preparation of Reports for each site appraising the ecological value of the sites and advising of any possible ecological constraints that may apply to future developments. The Reports will include: plans showing any areas of potential nature conservation importance; a description of the survey techniques employed and their limitations (if any); the findings of the desktop and site surveys; an appraisal of the nature conservation value of the study areas; recommendations for further ecological surveys that would be required in support of any future planning applications for the sites and areas 1.2 SITE LOCATION & PROPOSAL Carnforth is as small town in the north of Lancashire, north east of Morecambe Bay. As part of its Local Plan Lancaster City Council is proposing a number of strategic sites to meet the needs for jobs and housing. The land currently identified in South Carnforth lies between the existing urban settlement of Carnforth and land surrounding Thwaite House Farm. Figure 1 shows the areas of land under consideration. It should be noted that in relation to this site, no southern boundary has been determined and therefore an illustrative boundary has been provided. It is therefore important to note that this site provides an indication that growth opportunities should be explored in South Carnforth, the scale of which are yet to be determined and would be subject to the Review of the North Lancashire Green Belt. If fully developed, the land could deliver a range of residential and economic development, including the creation of 1,250 new homes. Figure 1 shows the area under consideration The land identified in South Carnforth is primarily farmland (Figure 2). There are a number of farmsteads within the site with associated buildings. There are a number of telecommunication masts and former quarry works including a number of ponds. 1.3 PERSONNEL All survey work was conducted by Suzanne Waymont MCIEEM Senior Ecologist and Mandy Elford MCIEEM, Ecologist (NE Bat License holder) with the Greater Manchester Ecology Unit. This report was written by Suzanne Waymont. LSA – 3 FEBRUARY 2016 LANCASTER SITE ALLOCATION – SOUTH CARNFORTH Figure 1 – SOUTH CARNFORTH STRATEGIC SITE ©Crown Copyright. All Rights Reserved. Tameside MBC Licence No LA100022697, 2016 LSA – 3 FEBRUARY 2016 LANCASTER SITE ALLOCATION – SOUTH CARNFORTH Figure 2 – Aerial View of South Carnforth 2 LEGISLATION AND POLICY The following UK legislation may be relevant to the proposed site allocations: • The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010 (as amended) • The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) • The Natural Environment and Rural Communities (NERC) Act (2006) • Countryside and Rights of Way (CROW) Act 2000 • Protection of Badgers Act 1992 LSA – 3 FEBRUARY 2016 LANCASTER SITE ALLOCATION – SOUTH CARNFORTH The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) 2012 acts as guidance for local planning authorities and decision-takers, both in drawing up plans and making decisions about planning applications. 3 METHODOLOGY 3.1 Desk Study The Multi-Agency Geographic Information for the Countryside (MAGIC) collaborative database website (http://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx) was searched for information on key environmental schemes and statutory designations in January 2016. An Ecological Data search was undertaken from the Local Record Centre covering Lancaster LERN. Information on all protected and priority species within 2km of the site allocations together with the citations for any BHS sites were requested. The information returned from LERN only includes data that they are at liberty to distribute. Therefore the North Lancashire Bat Group and the Lancashire Badger Group were also contacted for data. The results of these studies is found in Section 4 3.2 Field Survey The main survey of the site was undertaken using an extended Phase 1 Habitat Survey methodology. This survey method records habitat distributions, assesses the potential of the site to support protected and priority species and records flora and fauna present at the time of survey. However no detailed surveys for species were undertaken. Invasive non-native plant species stands, as listed under Schedule 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, as amended, were also noted. The Bat Surveys for Professional Ecologists: Good Practice Guidelines (3rd edn) (Bat Conservation Trust 2016) were used to assessed the quality of the habitats present on site for bats. The survey was undertaken on the 14th January 2015 by Suzanne Waymont MCIEEM Senior Ecologist and Mandy Elford MCIEEM, Ecologist (NE Bat License holder) with the Greater Manchester Ecology Unit. The weather conditions at the time of survey were cold and sunny. 3.3 Survey limitations The timing of the survey in January is outside of the ideal time to undertake full ecological surveys. Many invasive, non-native plant species die back over winter, although their remains are often visible. Many of the hedgerows had been recently cut. As a result the number of species in some and their species richness may have been underestimated. However the nature of the survey was to provide an initial appraisal of the ecological value of the site, advise on any possible ecological constraints and to provide recommendations for any further ecological surveys that would be required. The limitations listed above did not therefore limit the primary purpose of the survey; areas that supported habitats of potential interest,