URBAN WILDLIFE CORRIDORS AND STEPPING STONES WEYMOUTH & PORTLAND BOROUGH

ADDENDUM September 2020

A note on amendments to the maps 2

List of sites in the Weymouth and Portland Ecological Network 3

Overview map showing Weymouth and Portland Corridors 5

Ecological Network map for Weymouth and Portland area. 5

Important North-South Corridors and Stepping Stones 1. River Wey Flood Plain Corridor 6 2. Lorton Valley Corridor 7 3. Railway Corridor 8 4. Fleet Hinterland Corridor 9 5. Corridor 10 6. River Jordan Floodplain Corridor 11

Important East-West Corridors and Stepping Stones 7. Bowleaze Gap Corridor 12 8. Lorton Farm Lane Corridor 13 9. Weymouth Way Corridor 14 10. Weymouth Golf Course Corridor and Stepping Stone 15 11. Fleet to Little Francis Corridor and Stepping Stone 16 12. Portland West Corridors 17 13. Portland Quarry Nature Park Policy Area 18 14. Portland Quarry Nature Park Aspirational Area 19

Urban Wildlife Corridors and Stepping Stones: Weymouth & Portland Borough – Addendum (September 2020) Page 1 Environmental Records Centre A note on amendments to the maps

Background The corridors and stepping stones report for Weymouth and Portland Borough Council was produced in 2010. Following this the information was used to help inform the production of ecological network maps across Dorset County, completed in October 2017. The wildlife corridors and stepping stones form links between existing sites or through urban areas, using small sites of wildlife value and areas of habitat creation or opportunity. For the 2017 ecological network mapping, the most extensive data set was provided by Dorset AONB. The AONB Landscape Permeability Study identified core areas of habitat, sub-core areas, adjacent habitat suitable for restoration and small isolated fragments of habitat. The final maps showed the Existing Ecological Network and the Potential Ecological Network, where improvements could extend the existing network.

Within the ecological network several sites in Weymouth and Portland were worthy of note: Lorton Valley Nature Park and Portland Quarries Nature Park (policy area) were included as Local Sites and part of the Existing Network; Portland Quarries Nature Park aspirational areas were included in the Potential Network.

Updating the maps The ecological network maps have been updated during 2020. Site boundaries (international, national and local) were replaced using Defra and DERC data adding a new site at Park Gardens within in the Local Sites category.

The majority of change between the 2017 and 2020 ecological network maps has come from the Dorset AONB where the Landscape Permeability Study data has been replaced with a new AONB data set (Dorset Landscape Monitoring, 2019) to cover the whole of Dorset including Weymouth and Portland.

Following all these changes, the Weymouth and Portland maps have been regenerated so that the North-South and East-West Corridors can be seen in the wider context of the Dorset Ecological Network maps.

The corridor showing most change is the Fleet to Little Francis corridor (11). Development proposals at Curtis Fields have removed nearly half the corridor (23 ha) leaving the remaining area of SNCI and open space as a vitally important link to the open fields above the Fleet. As the corridor is no longer constrained by the Weymouth and Portland Borough boundary, it has been extended westwards to join the existing ecological network. Field survey undertaken for the original report showed the importance of the lane and hedgerows here for bats, badger and both resident and migratory birds.

There have been some less obvious changes in the Lorton Valley Corridor (2). An area of 9 ha has been lost to development but a buffer between the new housing and corridor has been retained.

There have also been some changes on Portland where the Portland Quarry Nature Park Policy Area (13) and the Portland Quarry Nature Park Aspirational Area (14) have replaced the Northern and Central Corridors. The southern corridor has been renamed Portland Weston to Southwell Corridor (12).

The Dorset Ecological Network maps can be found on the Dorset LNP website or by using Dorset Explorer to see an interactive version.

Urban Wildlife Corridors and Stepping Stones: Weymouth & Portland Borough – Addendum (September 2020) Page 2 Dorset Environmental Records Centre List of Sites in the Weymouth and Portland Ecological Networks

National Sites (included the existing ecological network)

Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)

SY58/003 Chesil & The Fleet SY67/004 Nicodemus Heights SY67/002 SY67/003 Shore SY68/003 Lodmoor SY68/005 Radipole Lake SY68/004 Lorton SY78/002 White Horse Hill

Local Sites (included in the existing network)

Sites of nature conservation Interest S(NCI)

SY67/012 Little Francis SY67/025 Grove Quarry SY67/013 Martleaves Farm SY67/026 Silklake Quarries SY67/014 Oyster Farm SY67/035 Broadcroft Quarry SY67/015 Wyke Regis Railway Cutting SY68/019 Windsbatch SY67/018 Portland Heights SY68/032 Lorton Meadows SY67/019 Verne Yeats SY68/033 Lodmoor North SY67/020 Bottom Combe Quarries SY68/034 Overcombe SY67/023 Pennsylvania Quarry

Urban Wildlife Corridors and Stepping Stones: Weymouth & Portland Borough – Addendum (September 2020) Page 3 Dorset Environmental Records Centre Other Local Sites (included in the existing network) Butterfly Conservation Reserve Local Geological Sites (LGS) SY67/B004 Perryfields Quarry G SY67/12 Rodwell Cutting SY67/B003 Broadcroft Quarry

Churchyards Local Nature Reserve (LNR) SY67/U002 Portland,St George SY67/B005 Verne Yeates LNR SY68/U010 Upwey Churchyard SY68/B003 Radipole Wood LNR SY68/U045 Radipole,St Ann SY78/U022 Preston,St Andrew

DWT Reserve Nature Parks SY67/B002 King Barrow Quarries Lorton Valley Nature Park SY67/B006 Tout Quarries Portland Quarries Nature Park SY68/B001 Lorton Meadows RSPB Reserve Local Community Nature Reserves Radipole Lake Radipole Park Gardens Lodmoor

Habitat Restoration Sites (included in the higher potential network) HRS/NET 022 Yeolands Quarry HRS/NET 020 Broadcroft Landfill HRS/NET 018 Priory Corner Re-alignment HRS/NET 017 Withies Croft Quarry, Portland HRS/NET 015 Radipole Wood LNR HRS/NET 029 Lorton Valley Nature Park (WRR) HRS/NET 030 Lorton Valley Nature Park; Mount Pleasant P&R

Urban Wildlife Corridors and Stepping Stones: Weymouth & Portland Borough – Addendum (September 2020) Page 4 Dorset Environmental Records Centre

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