Penbeagle Nature Reserve Management Plan
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Penbeagle Nature Reserve Management Plan 29 April 2021 Prepared for: St Ives Community Orchard & Nature Reserve Group Prepared by: Cornwall Environmental Consultants (CEC Ltd) Five Acres Allet Truro TR4 9DJ Ref: CEC3493 Document Control Revision Prepared by Checked by Approved by First Steve Adams BA(Hons), Natasha Collings-Costello Natasha Collings-Costello Issue MSc, MCIEEM, CEnv MEnv Sci MCIEEM CSci CEnv MEnv Sci MCIEEM CSci CEnv Senior Ecologist Managing Director Managing Director A Steve Adams BA(Hons), Jenny Stuart MSc, CEnv, Jenny Stuart MSc, CEnv, MSc, MCIEEM, CEnv MCIEEM MCIEEM Senior Ecologist Principal Ecologist Principal Ecologist B Disclosure The information, opinion and advice which we have prepared and provided is true and has been prepared and provided in accordance with the CIEEM’s Code of Professional Conduct and the British Standard for Biodiversity – Code of practice for planning and development (2013). We confirm that the opinions expressed are our true and professional bona fide opinions. ISO Accreditations Contents 1. Summary Sheet .............................................................. 4 1.1. Aim of the Nature Reserve Project 4 1.2. Wildlife Summary 4 1.3. Management Summary 5 2. Site Details .................................................................... 6 2.1. Planning Policy 6 3. Site Description ............................................................. 8 3.1. Designated Sites 8 3.2. Desk Study 9 4. Biological Description and Evaluation ....................... 15 4.1. Introduction 15 4.2. Habitats 15 4.3. Species 22 5. Historical and Cultural Results ................................... 26 5.1. Historical 26 5.2. Cultural 27 6. Operational Objectives and Management Rationale .. 30 6.1. Woodland 30 6.2. Invasive Non-native Species 32 6.3. Grasslands 35 6.4. Edible Woodland 36 6.5. Scrub 37 6.6. Access 37 6.7. Local Nature Reserve 38 7. References ................................................................... 44 8. List of Appendices ....................................................... 45 A. County Wildlife Site Summary Sheet 46 B. Phase 1 Habitat Survey Vascular Plant List 48 1 CEC3493 Penbeagle Nature Reserve Management Plan April 2021 List of Figures Figure 1: St Ives Community Orchard and Penbeagle Nature Reserve(yellow) and County Wildlife Sites (red) ............................................................................................................... 8 Figure 2: Community orchard (red)and Penbeagle Nature Reserve (blue) which includes the edible woodland (yellow) ............................................................................................... 9 Figure 3: 2001 Aerial showing grassland and gorse ........................................................ 11 Figure 4: 2005 aerial with no obvious areas of short grassland ....................................... 12 Figure 5: 2019 aerial showing the increase in bracken, but also a reduction in gorse .... 13 Figure 6 Ground flora has developed beneath the scrub where light can penetrate, this is mainly along side the paths. .............................................................................................. 16 Figure 7: A remnant of the original acid grassland (moorland) vegetation ...................... 16 Figure 8: Rank semi-improved grassland in the edible woodland .................................... 17 Figure 9: A spring flush of bluebell, wood anemone and pignut flowers on the northern hill slopes, before the bracken canopy emerges .................................................................... 18 Figure 10: The same northern hill slopes are completely covered in bracken in August.18 Figure 11: Open tor habitat with pockets of thin soil supporting a characteristic flora ..... 19 Figure 12: Wood sorrel, bluebell and ferns growing on the quarry floor beside the dried up pool, cotoneaster and rhododendron can be seen in the background ............................. 19 Figure 13: Hedge on the lower north-east boundary with hawthorns but largely hidden by bracken .............................................................................................................................. 20 Figure 14: Piles of composting cut bracken may be used by grass snakes to lay their eggs ........................................................................................................................................... 24 Figure 15: Historical features at Penbeagle – possible prehistoric (red) and medieval field system (green) ................................................................................................................... 26 Figure 16: Access. Public footpaths (pink), Open access land (beige), paths (green) unofficial paths (blue) and nature reserve boundary (red) ............................................... 28 List of Tables Table 1: Bird records from 2019 ........................................................................................ 23 Table 2: Invertebrate records from 2019 ........................................................................... 24 Table 3: ERCCIS butterfly records for Penbeagle Hill ...................................................... 25 Table 4: Possible tree and shrub species for planting ...................................................... 30 Table 5: Proposed five year work schedule ...................................................................... 40 2 CEC3493 Penbeagle Nature Reserve Management Plan April 2021 List of Maps Map 1: Phase 1 Habitat Distribution.................................................................................. 21 Map 2 Management Tasks ................................................................................................ 42 Map 3 Location of Invasive Non-Native Species .............................................................. 43 3 CEC3493 Penbeagle Nature Reserve Management Plan April 2021 1. Summary Sheet Site Name: Penbeagle Nature Reserve Area: 11.54 ha Grid ref: SW 506394 1.1. Aim of the Nature Reserve Project Penbeagle Nature Reserve is managed by the St Ives Community Orchard and the aim of the Penbeagle Nature Reserve project is; • to enhance biodiversity & provide wildlife habitats • to involve the community in managing the nature reserve • to create an area where everyone can enjoy nature, get active, socialise and pick their own fruit • to have the site recognised as a Local Nature Reserve. • To preserve and enhance the naturalness of the nature reserve • To utilise the site for environmental education. 1.2. Wildlife Summary The site lies on north, west and east facing slopes of Penbeagle Hill, including the summit. The main habitat present is bracken which over the years has encroached over the grassland. There is a granite rock outcrop at the summit and several smaller outcrops scattered through the site. Close to the summit there is a small area of species-rich grassland which has not yet been encroached by the bracken. There are also narrow strips of grassland alongside many of the paths. On the lower slopes to the north and east are areas of dense scrub, while there are small patches of scrub scattered throughout the bracken areas. There are two fields on the lower slopes to the north that have been planted up with fruit trees while planting of native broadleaved trees has taken place along the long slopes above the orchards. There are scattered non-native plants throughout the site including rhododendron, montbretia and cotoneaster. 4 CEC3493 Penbeagle Nature Reserve Management Plan April 2021 1.3. Management Summary While this management plan covers the whole site, it does not include management of the fruit trees in the edible woodland section. The management objectives for the site are: • To establish areas of native broadleaved woodland on the lower slopes. • To remove non-native plants. • To enhance areas of grassland and prevent any further spread of bracken. • To manage a section of the site as an edible woodland. • To manage areas of scrub • To maintain access routes and existing paths. • To have the site recognised as a Local Nature Reserve (LNR). • Involve the community in the management of the site. • To facilitate use of the site as an environmental educational resource. 5 CEC3493 Penbeagle Nature Reserve Management Plan April 2021 2. Site Details 2.1. Planning Policy Site Name: St Ives Community Orchard & Penbeagle Nature Reserve Ownership: Freehold owned by Cornwall Council, leased to St Ives Community Orchard and Nature Reserve Group Area: 11.54Ha Grid Reference: SW 5060 3943 (site centre), SW 5079 3972 (main entrance) Public Access: While there is a network of paths round the site, there are no Public Rights of Way. The main access point is on the northern edge of the site, off Penbeagle Lane. A large part of the upper slopes are open access land under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (see Figure 15). This provides for access on foot. It is also possible to enter the site from the south-east by crossing adjoining open access land, which is accessed by a public footpath from Steeple Lane. Vehicle Access: There is a small car park off Penbeagle Lane adjacent to the main access point to the site. Rationale: Historically, much of the nature reserve site was part of Penbeagle Farm, owned by Palemon Best. On his death in 1927 part of the land was bequeathed to St Ives Town Council to be preserved as an open space for the benefit of the community. This area now forms the recreation ground and skate park. The farm and remainder of the land was bequeathed