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Report to:- CEMEX UK Materials Ltd Cemex House Evreux Way Rugby Warwickshire CV21 2DT December 2014 ECOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF LAND AT EAST LEAKE QUARRY, REMPSTONE ROAD, EAST LEAKE, NOTTINGHAMSHIRE LE12 6PW ~~~~~~~~~~~~ CONTENTS 1. SUMMARY…........................................................................................................... 1 2. BACKGROUND…................................................................................................... 3 3. LEGISLATIVE & POLICY MECHANISMS…................................................... 3 4. INITIAL ASSESSMENT METHODS………………….………......……...…….. 5 5. SITE CONTEXT………..………………....................…….…...….……..……….. 9 6. PHASE 1 SURVEY……………………........…………………...……..…........… 11 7. FAUNA…………………………….……………….…………..……….....……… 19 8. PHASE 1 SURVEY CONCLUSIONS…………………...................…...……… 40 9. ECOLOGICAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT METHOD…………….......……… 41 10. EAST LEAKE EcIA: STAGE 1 – SCOPING…………….......…...............…… 48 11. EAST LEAKE EcIA: STAGE 2 – IDENTIFICATION OF LIKELY ZONE OF INFLUENCE………....…...................................................................................… 62 12. EAST LEAKE EcIA: STAGE 3 – VALUED ECOLOGICAL RECEPTORS (VER) LIKELY TO BE AFFECTED………...................................…………… 63 13. EAST LEAKE EcIA: STAGE 4 – BIOPHYSICAL CHANGES LIKELY TO AFFECT EXISTING VER……...........………..............................................…… 64 14. EAST LEAKE EcIA: STAGE 5 – ASSESSMENT OF THE SIGNIFICANCE OF CHANGES TO THE INTEGRITY OF STATUTORILY PROTECTED AND/OR NON-STATUTORY WILDLIFE SITES, OR THE CONSERVATION STATUS OF VER WITHIN THE ZONE OF INFLUENCE……...........…...................................................................…….…… 65 CONTENTS (continued) 15. EAST LEAKE EcIA: STAGE 6 – MITIGATION, COMPENSATION & ENHANCEMENT……......................................................................……….…… 75 16. EAST LEAKE EcIA: STAGE 7 – ASSESSMENT OF THE ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS…........................................................................................................… 81 17. EAST LEAKE EcIA: STAGE 8 – ADVISING ON THE CONSEQUENCES FOR DECISION MAKING……...................................................................…… 84 18. EAST LEAKE EcIA: STAGE 9 – MONITORING……….............................… 84 19. REFERENCES……........................................................................................…… 84 APPENDIX A. A REVIEW OF THE COMMUTING RANGES OF BRITISH BATS USED TO DEFINE AN APPROPRIATE RADIUS FOR SEARCHES OF HISTORIC DATA- SETS…......….............................................................................................................................….. 93 APPENDIX B. PLANT SPECIES RECORDED AT THE EAST LEAKE QUARRY EXTENSION PHASE 1 SURVEY SITE…………............................................................…….... 97 APPENDIX C. RESULTS OF HEDGEROW ASSESSMENT AT THE EAST LEAKE QUARRY EXTENSION PHASE 1 SURVEY SITE…................................................................ 99 APPENDIX D. SUMMARY OF IMPACTS AT THE EAST LEAKE QUARRY EXTENSION SITE…............................................................................................................................................. 103 _______________________________________________________________________________ Report authors: Henry Andrews MSc CEcol MCIEEM, Leanne Butt BSc MSc ACIEEM & Christy Tolliday BSc MSc (2014) and Tom Staton BSc MSc (2012). Final Proof: Henry Andrews. This report has been prepared by AEcol (Andrews Ecology Ltd) with all reasonable skill and diligence, within the terms agreed with the client. No part of the report may be reproduced without prior written approval of AEcol. No liability is accepted in respect of the use of data, conclusions or other material contained in this report for any purposes other than those specific to this report. © AEcol – Andrews Ecology Ltd 2014 ________________________________________________________________________________ CEMEX UK Materials Ltd ECOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT East Leake Quarry Extension ________________________________________________________________________________________ ECOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF LAND AT EAST LEAKE QUARRY, REMPSTONE ROAD, EAST LEAKE, NOTTINGHAMSHIRE LE12 6PW 1. SUMMARY 1.1.1 AEcol were commissioned by CEMEX UK Materials Ltd to assess the ecological importance of approximately 46 ha of land, c. 27.5 ha of which is proposed as an extension to the existing East Leake Quarry, Rempstone Road, East Leake, Nottinghamshire LE12 6PW. 1.1.2 The East Leake Quarry extension site is located at Ordnance Survey (O.S.) Grid reference SK570247, c. 2 km south-east of East Leake, on the north-west side of the village of Rempstone. The Sheepwash Brook is located directly along the northern boundary of the site and the River Soar is located c. 3.5 km to the south-west. The extension site is located in an area of predominantly agricultural land comprising tillage, fragmented hedgerows and isolated patches of woodland, with mineral extraction within the existing East Leake Quarry to the west, a large area of parkland to the south-west and areas of residential housing within surrounding villages. 1.1.3 The initial ecological assessment comprised:- A desk-study including a search for historical biological data relating to the site and a stratified radius performed by Nottinghamshire Biological and Geological Records Centre (NBGRC) in September 2014; Phase 1 habitat mapping to the method set out in the Handbook for Phase 1 Habitat Survey: A technique for environmental audit (JNCC 2003) in September 2014; An assessment of the conservation value of the habitats present against the criteria set for Priority Habitats within the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) in September 2014; and An assessment of the habitats present as to their intrinsic value, and the potential for protected fauna to occur, including:- o An assessment of hedgerows present within the site for their importance under the Hedgerow Regulations 1997; o An assessment of ponds to the north-west of the site for their potential to support great crested newts Triturus cristatus; o A search for field-signs of water voles Arvicola amphibius, badgers Meles meles and otters Lutra lutra; and o An assessment of all trees within and bounding the site for their potential to support roosting bats. 1.1.4 The conclusions of the East Leake Quarry extension Phase 1 survey are as follows:- 1. The site has no Statutory Wildlife Sites within a 2 km radius; 2. The site has three non-Statutory Wildlife Sites within a 1 km radius comprising Sheepwash Brook Wetlands Local Wildlife Site (LWS), Stanford Park LWS and Manor Farm, East Leake Grassland LWS; 3. The site holds eight Phase 1 (JNCC 2003) habitat types which encompass one UK BAP Priority Habitat and one Nottinghamshire Local BAP Priority Habitat ________________________________________________________________________________________ - 1 - ©AEcol 2014 CEMEX UK Materials Ltd ECOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT East Leake Quarry Extension ________________________________________________________________________________________ comprising ‘Hedgerows’, although hedgerows within the site do not qualify as ‘important’ within the Hedgerow Regulations 1997; 4. The site holds an impoverished flora and no legally protected and/or UK BAP Priority Species of plants were recorded; 5. The site holds suitable habitat for a suite of common and widespread invertebrates, potentially including up to 40 UK BAP Priority Species; 6. The site holds no suitable habitat for legally protected and/or UK BAP Priority Species of fish; 7. The site holds no suitable breeding habitat for amphibians, although the UK BAP Priority Species; common toad Bufo bufo may potentially occur in their terrestrial phase on boundary hedgerows. There are no grounds to predict the presence of the legally protected and UK BAP Priority Species; great crested newts; 8. The site holds potentially suitable habitat for two legally protected and UK BAP Priority Species of reptiles comprising transient grass snake Natrix natrix along the Sheepwash Brook and boundary hedgerows, as well as slow-worm Anguis fragilis also on boundary hedgerows; 9. The site holds suitable habitat for a suite of common and widespread breeding and/or wintering bird species, potentially including up to 34 Schedule 1 and/or UK BAP Priority Species; 10. The site holds suitable habitat for one UK BAP Priority Species of mammal; brown hare Lepus europaeus (recorded during the Phase 1 survey) and may also support a further two UK BAP Priority Species; harvest mice Micromys minutus and hedgehogs Erinaceus europaeus, as well as the legally protected mammal; badger; 11. The site holds no potentially suitable habitat for the legally protected and UK BAP Priority Species; common dormice Muscardinus avellanarius, water voles or otters, although the occasional presence of otters along the Sheepwash Brook is possible; and 12. The site holds potentially suitable habitat and features which may be used by a suite of common and widespread commuting and/or foraging bats, potentially including up to two legally protected and UK BAP Priority Species comprising noctule Nyctalus noctula and soprano pipistrelle Pipistrellus pygmaeus. 1.1.5 There has been no material change in the habitats present within the East Leake Quarry extension site in 2014, or in their potential to support protected species since the survey was performed in 2012. No further surveys are proposed in respect of plants, invertebrates, fish, amphibians, reptiles,

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