Blewbury Downs South East CTA (Conservation Target Area) The Berkshire Downs area to the south east of Blewbury. The area takes in the steeper chalk slopes and extends into Berkshire as far as Streatley. Joint Character Area: Berkshire and Marlborough Downs Landscape Types: Wooded Downlands Geology: Chalk Topography: Steep banks on the Berkshire Downs escarpment and dry valleys that cut into the escarpment. Area of CTA: 1961 hectares Biodiversity: • Chalk Grassland: extensive areas along banks throughout the area. Some restoration work has also taken place. • Lowland Mixed Deciduous Woodland and Beech Woodland: One large site in Oxfordshire with both types of woodland. There is also woodland at Streatley and some plantations. • Species: Stone curlew target area. An important area for butterflies. An important area for arable wildflowers.
Access: The area is crossed by the Ridgeway and other byways and bridleways. It includes the National Trust land at Streatley. Archaeology: Crossed by the Devil’s Ditch and Grim’s Ditch. There is a Roman Temple on Lowbury Hill.
Oxfordshire Biodiversity Action Plan Targets associated with this CTA: 1. Chalk (lowland calcareous) grassland - management 1, restoration and creation.
2. Arable Field Margins (and arable in-field options) – management and creation (with particular emphasis on management of farmland for stone curlew, other farmland birds and arable wildflowers).
3. Woodland – management.
1 “Management” implies both maintaining the quantity, and maintaining and improving the quality of existing BAP habitat and incorporates the following target definitions: “Maintaining extent” and “Achieving Condition”.
Cholsey Blewbury Aston Tirrold
Moulsford
Streatley
Compton
Goring
Area of BAP habitat present in CTA (from TVERC BAP Habitat GIS layer 5/2010) and 2015 BAP Habitat Targets for this CTA Coastal Blewbury Lowland Lowland Wood - Lowland Lowland and Eutrophic Downs Lowland Lowland Beech Mixed Wet Pasture Traditional Calcareous Dry Acid Floodplain Standing Reedbeds Meadows Fens and Yew Deciduous Woodland and Orchards South East Grassland Grassland Grazing Waters Woodland Woodland Parkland CTA Marsh Area of BAP Habitat in 52.9 38.7 47.9 0.1 CTA (ha) % of CTA 2.7 2.0 2.4 0.0 area
% of county 7.2 4.9 1.0 0.0 resource Wood - Coastal 2015 Eutrophic Pasture Lowland Lowland and Traditional Lowland Standing Lowland and BAP Calcareous Dry Acid Floodplain Reedbeds Native Woodland Orchards - Meadows Waters – Fens Parkland No targets targets Grassland Grassland Grazing No targets Targets not for 2015 Marsh for 2015 divided by (hectares) CTA Maintenance (to be ------determined) Achieving Condition (to be ------determined)
Restoration 12 - - 3 - -
Creation 2 - - 22 - -