Countryside & Coast Team Annual Report 2011-12

Contents

Section Page(s)

Introduction 2

Amenity Land 3 - 4

Highway Trees 5 - 6

Development Control / Ecological Planning Advice 7 - 8

Coastal Management 9 - 13

Environmental Projects 14 - 17

Canals and Waterways 18 - 20

Water Management / Levels & Moors 21 - 25

1 Countryside & Coast Team Annual Report 2011-12

Introduction The Countryside & Coast Team is now very much reduced in size due to a succession of budget reductions over the last five years. However the six (4.6 full time equivalent) members of staff remaining are delivering a wide range of projects and addressing issues which have a significant effect on the environment of the County. The Countryside & Coast team is a group of specialist staff with a wide knowledge of the County between them. They are:

• Phil Stone, Landscape Architect, dealing with many aspects of planning and environmental projects

• Steve Scriven, Specialist aboriculturist, dealing with all Highway tree issues across the County

• Tony Serjeant, Ecologist, providing advice to SCC on planning and development control regarding protected species and biodiversity issues

• Rebecca Gray, specialising in coastal management and fundraising for coastal projects especially tourism related initiatives

• Joy Williams, project management of landscape and wildlife conservation projects and fund raising specialist

• Trevor Wall, site management and negotiation specialist

• Steve Dury, Water and Environment Management expert, dealing with rivers and catchment management and the Levels & Moors. (Steve was with the Countryside & Coast Team until April 2012 and his work is therefore included in this report. Steve is now part of the Flood Management Team)

This small team operates in a flexible and effective way to assist the development of plans and projects for the County Council in a wide variety of ways as outlined in this annual report.

The countryside team has a wide range of abilities and is able to focus its attention on a range of environmental and economic projects as required by the Council. Through its Planning related activities it can secure resources to carry out landscape and ecological mitigation. The team makes bids for partnership projects at all levels ranging from the EU-wide scale to small heritage initiatives relevant to ’s distinctive landscape. Examples of both these scales of working are shown in this annual report.

Investigations are underway for a significant number of major developments along the Somerset Coast in particular and the countryside team is well placed to help ensure that these bring major benefits to Somerset’s landscape and environment in the next few years. This report attempts to illustrate that potential by looking at what has been achieved over the past year.

2

Amenity Land – review and management (Phil Stone & Trevor Wall)

Implementing the on-going review of SCC amenity land and other selected SCC land holdings and making recommendations on sites to be disposed of. Managing the process of decision making on sites to declare surplus.

Sayes hole, Cheddar – under negotiation Crowcombe woodland – sold to WSR

Thornecombe Hill Saltlands, Highbridge - under negotiation for sale - under negotiation for sale

Liaising with interested parties regarding sale or transfer of sites considered to be surplus, eg Parish Councils, Members and other groups.

Saltlands woodland, Bridgwater Creech St Michael car park – under negotiation – transfer to Parish Council

3 Amenity sites retained for their public / landscape / wildlife value Managing sites for grazing agreements, contract arrangements, Agri-environment schemes, public access and wildlife (eg Blackmore Reserve, Milton Hill and Deer Leap)

Great wood, Quantocks Axbridge by pass parking – retained by SCC - sold to Forestry Commission

Managing amenity land sites for public access, wildlife and landscape benefits as well as sporting activities such as fishing (eg. Lascot Hill, Dunwear Ponds & Screech Owl)

Lascot Hill, Wedmore Dunwear Ponds, Bridgwater – leased to SCC – leased to Bridgwater Anglers

4

Highway trees (Steve Scriven)

• The ongoing tree inventory carried out by the Highway Inspectors under this sections direction has so far identified 6097 SCC owned trees along the County’s 3500kms of road network. Full details, including the location and condition of each tree, have been recorded and placed on the Confirm System. • During the last year close to 1000 tree related enquiries were received and were dealt with. • Contractors were engaged to carry out tree surgery work at 176 different locations throughout the County.

Tree surgeon at work Fallen roadside tree

• 275 Lime trees situated in the footways around Minehead are pruned every summer and pollarded each winter. • Enforcement action was taken on two occasions to remove trees in private ownership that were deemed to be an imminent danger to users of the Highway • 90 mature willow trees were pollarded near Moorland as part of an ongoing programme of preventative maintenance of roadside willows in the Levels and Moors.

Willows in need of pollarding Pollarding work started

• The budget for tree maintenance works was expended by mid February 2012, the effect was that routine works ceased for a time and only emergency work were carried out.

5 • The budget for 2012- 2013 has been reduced by 20% from £104,500 to £82,700 therefore there will be a corresponding reduction in the work that can be carried out. SCC spends considerably less on tree maintenance works than the neighbouring counties. • The reduced budget will need to be directed to Priority 1 works – public safety. Less will be available for Priority 2 – remedial/preventative works, Priority 3 – nuisance management is likely to be minimal.

Inspection and removal of storm damaged trees Culmhead beech avenue inspection, selective tree removal and replanting

6

Development Control – Ecological Planning Advice (Tony Serjeant)

Last financial year Tony had an input into the determination of over 80 separate planning applications submitted to Somerset County Council. Technical support on ecological issues was given on issues ranging from the potential of school grounds and buildings to support legally protected species to appraisal of the ecological impacts of works proposed at some of Mendip’s major aggregates quarries (e.g. Callow Rock, Whatley, Halecombe, Moons Hill). Planning conditions were imposed in a number of instances to protect and enhance biodiversity on several development sites as a direct result. For example, Tony worked with waste operators Viridor to devise measures to safeguard legally protected Water Vole populations at Walpole Landfill Site which will lead to the creation of significant new areas of habitat for this endangered species.

Water Vole Daubenton’s bat

As a licensed bat roost visitor Tony was able to give hands-on support and advice to the contractors updating the fibre-optic communications running between County Hall and Police Station, checking the route of the cabling in relation to the location of a breeding colony of scarce Daubenton’s bats living under the Police Station.

A significant proportion of Tony’s time during the year was spent advising SCC and District Councils on the implications of the Hinkley C proposals for Somerset’s natural environment. Contributions of nearly £500k were secured in connection with the Hinkley C site preparation works to enhance features of the landscape for wildlife in the vicinity of the proposed power station.

Dormouse Otter

7

Under Tony’s direction major progress was made on the review of planning permissions that SCC is statutorily obliged to undertake under the 2010 Habitats Regulations. An initial list of 270 planning permissions associated with peat extraction in and the and Moors has been reduced to about 20 permissions requiring further investigation. Discussions were initiated with the largest peat operator - E J Godwin (Peat Industries) Ltd - concerning restoration of a large block of peat workings on promising many possible benefits for wildlife, eco-tourism, flood prevention and improvements in water quality.

Peat extraction Birds on Westhay Moor

During 2010/11 Tony negotiated agreements with Somerset Environmental Records Centre to maintain the provision of quality biodiversity information to SCC and Somerset residents and with Mendip District Council and West Somerset Council to provide ecological advice on planning control matters.

Tony had an input into the Amenity Land Review and has followed this up by looking at ways that volunteers could become more involved in the management of wildlife sites that are owned at present by SCC.

8

Coastal Management (Rebecca Gray)

Partnerships As part of her role Rebecca represents SCC on relevant partnerships, providing support and a co-ordinating role in order to develop funding applications and projects to benefit communities along the Somerset Coast. These partnerships include the North Devon & Somerset Coastal Advisory Group, Severn Estuary Partnership, Association of Severn Estuary Relevant Authorities, Local Government Association Coastal Issues Special Interest Group and Burnham-on-Sea to Brean Beach and Dune Management Plan Management Group. This role also includes responding to statutory consultations on issues affecting the Somerset Coast on behalf of SCC.

Somerset Coastal Change Pathfinder Project Management One example of a recent externally funded project is the Somerset Coastal Change Pathfinder Project. Rebecca developed the application and managed this £235,000, 2 year project which started in March 2010, funded by the Defra Coastal Change Pathfinder Programme. Approximately one-fifth of Somerset’s 114km coastline is low lying, and there is a history of coastal flooding in the area. Through the North Devon & Somerset Shoreline Management Plan, communities have been identified as those likely to experience significant changes to their coastline in the next 20 years. The project aims to raise awareness of key issues around coastal change and to work with communities on ways they can adapt.

Outcomes from this project include:

• Flood resilience reports were produced for Steart residents with advice on flood protection; this was in response to a specific request from them, as part of the Steart Coastal Management Project community engagement programme. This project will create between 300-600ha of new intertidal habitat providing new opportunities for travel and tourism in Somerset. This is one of the largest managed realignment projects in the country.

Steart Coastal Management Project Area

9

• Working in partnership with Natural England, District Council and local volunteers from the Berrow Conservation Group we have started to restore sand dunes which form part of the Berrow Local Nature Reserve. Storms and excessive visitor trampling had caused ‘blow-outs’, causing the dunes to collapse. These dunes are an important sea defence which protect the Brean Coast road and properties along it. Further dune restoration work is planned for this coming year, along with advice for visitors, on how they can help to preserve the dunes themselves.

Sand fencing resulting in dune restoration – before and after

• Over 300 primary schools in Somerset have benefited from a project to develop an interactive ‘Egame’ in which children and adults learn more about the changes occurring at their local coast. Through a series of arcade style games, word searches and puzzles, children at Berrow, Otterhampton and Porlock primary schools had first hand experience in developing ideas and concepts for the game and trialling the ‘game play’ element of this.

Children at Otterhampton school learn Primary school children helped develop a about their changing coast computer game about Somerset’s coast

10 • A series of community workshops, resulting in a Flood Adaptation Action plan and flood resilience kit has been provided to the community at Porlock Weir.

Mock newspaper used to communicate coastal change Porlock Weir residents are likely to experience at Porlock Weir more coastal flooding in the future

• Working in partnership with Burnham and Berrow golf club we have been actively managing the dunes in front of the golf course, which act as a natural coastal defence from tidal inundations. By cutting down sea buckthorn and enabling marram grass to re-establish, the dunes will slowly start to be restored. This defence function is critical not only to residents of the local communities, but to the wider low-lying area of the Somerset Levels located behind this defence line.

Dune management at Burnham and Berrow golf club

• Coastal residents, partner organisations including the Environment Agency, the National Trust and the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust had the opportunity to work together on a film which shows some of the changes likely to be experienced along the coast and the ways which they are starting to adapt to these. Rebecca manages the website where the outputs from this project can be found: www.somersetcoastalchange.org.uk

11 Building on the successes of the Coastal Change Pathfinder Project, Rebecca is developing a partnership bid for submission to the BIG Lottery Coastal Communities Fund. This fund is being made available from 50% of the Crown Estates revenue created from the leasing of the seabed for tidal and wind energy development. The bid focuses on Green Infrastructure and includes putting in new cycle paths across the River Axe, reinvigorating the Coleridge Way and providing tourism businesses with training/mentoring and support to boost their businesses. It is estimated that 118 jobs would be created from the combined projects over 5 years and the economy would grow by £5m GVA. The next opportunity for applications is early 2013.

Coastal access at Kilve, part of the Coleridge Way

Rebecca represents SCC on the North Devon & Somerset Coastal Advisory Group, which is responsible for developing the Shoreline Management Plan for the coast from Hartland point, North Devon to Anchor Head, Weston-super-Mare. This plan sets out the policy for coastal defences and is used by the Environment Agency to determine where coastal defences will be maintained, or in some cases not, through a policy of no active intervention in the future.

Parrett estuary flood banks – view from Pawlett Hams

Rebecca represents SCC on the Local Government Association Coastal Issues Special Interest Group; this is a national organisation which brings together Coastal Officers from all councils which have a maritime boundary. It aims to establish improved governance, management and community wellbeing to ensure that the UK has the best managed coast in Europe and to identify appropriate and sustainable funding strategies to support this aim.

12

An artist’s impression of a Weston-Cardiff barrage, the latest proposal put forward by Corlan Hafren Limited a privately funded group. A balance must be sought between habitat protection (EU Habitats and Birds Directives) and securing the maximum renewable energy from what is potentially one of the largest global resources of carbon free energy

Rebecca keeps up to date with developments on the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009. This act will mean enhanced levels of protection for the marine environment and is reaching a crucial stage of implementation; stakeholders are expecting marine plans to provide clarity of direction and clear policies to deliver that direction. As a planning authority, the County Council is a key stakeholder in this process as well as having a new statutory duty to part fund and be a member of the Devon and Severn Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority.

13

Environmental and healthy lifestyle projects (Joy Williams)

• Partnership working Part of Joy’s role is to represent SCC on relevant partnerships, providing support and taking a coordinating role in implementing projects to protect or enhance Somerset’s natural environment. The role also includes responding to statutory consultations on issues affecting the natural environment on behalf of SCC and the partnerships. These partnerships include Somerset Biodiversity Partnership, Local Wildlife Sites Partnership, Greenspace South West, Green Infrastructure Group, UK Orchard Group and Somerset Hedge Group. The Biodiversity Partnership is closely involved in plans to develop a Local Nature Partnership in Somerset. Joy also provides support for the Somerset Waterways Advisory Committee.

Biodiversity Partnership Wildlife Event UK Orchard Group surveying orchards

• Fundraising / Project management Joy researches and identifies external funding opportunities for environmental projects and publishes a funding database on the website which is used by all relevant partners. She works with partners to develop and submit funding applications for projects and manages projects to ensure they are delivered within the agreed timescale and budget. (eg currently managing the £45,000 budget for the South Somerset Orchard project, monitoring and reporting on progress to project members and HLF). Joy has also raised match funding from the Biodiversity Partnership members to fund half the salary of a Biodiversity Partnership Officer and various projects over the last three years. (Report of achievements over the 3 year period is available.)

Beach Clean Event organised by Somerset Biodiversity Partnership

14 • South Somerset Orchard project One example of a recent externally funded project is the ‘Keeping South Somerset Orchards Alive’. This £45,000 two year project started in April 2011 and received a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Traditional Orchards have been identified as a priority for Biodiversity action both in Somerset and the UK. This is due to their importance in providing food and shelter for hundreds of rare plants, lichens, small mammals, birds and insects but traditional orchards have declined by 63% over the last 50 years. A recent project conducted by People’s Trust for Endangered Species mapped traditional orchards in an inventory. In Somerset there are 2745 traditional orchards covering an area of 1687 hectares. Volunteer surveys and questionnaires revealed that 62% are in poor condition. The project aims to raise the profile of orchards in the local community and to encourage orchard management, restoration and planting. In addition to their value for wildlife orchards are a very important part of Somerset’s heritage, economy and tourism.

New planting in old orchard Bee on orchard blossom

• Promotion / Communications Joy plays a part in promoting SCC’s work and role in the natural environment to members of the public and visitors to Somerset. This is achieved by developing and maintaining SCC webpages relating to Countryside Team activities and Partnership projects, regular articles in Our Somerset and Your Somerset. PR is also an important part in project management and Joy has developed and produced promotional material for the South Somerset Orchard Project such as presentations, project leaflets, posters, journal articles, orchard newsletters and a project website. She has been involved in organising events to celebrate orchards such an Apple Day event and Orchard Bioblitz. Joy also provides advice and guidance to members of the public regarding landscape and or wildlife issues.

Apple art on Apple Day Orchard Bioblitz – learning about lichens

15 • Education Joy works with Somerset Wildlife Trust volunteers and primary schools on the Wildlife School Grounds project. The project encourages schools to improve their school grounds for wildlife and use them as a learning resource for the children. 5 primary schools each year receive advisory visits and reports and undertake wildlife projects in their grounds. Joy’s role is to coordinate the projects, contact schools and volunteers, provide information, advice and small grants, record progress on the Biodiversity and Schools webpage. As part of the South Somerset Orchard project Joy has also arranged for 10 primary schools in the project area to visit local orchards to learn about them and orchard wildlife. Joy helped to develop an orchard educational learning pack that has been produced and issued to the schools.

Brookside Primary School wildflower meadow All Saints Eco club visit a local orchard

• Community / volunteer involvement / healthy lifestyle Joy has been working to encourage and arrange volunteer involvement in Countryside projects. This supports SCC aims to increase participation in volunteering within the local community and also promotes the healthy lifestyle. 25 volunteers have been recruited as part of the South Somerset Orchard project. They have been trained and will be involved in planting and managing community orchards and in orchard surveys. Earlier this year Joy obtained funding from Natural England for volunteer ‘Friends of Longrun Meadows’ to have two days training and hands-on experience of hedge laying, so they will be able to continue to maintain hedges in the Country Park.

Orchard volunteer training Volunteers hedge laying

16 • Community woodland development

Joy also provides advice and grants to encourage Community Woodland and Orchard planting. One of the main conclusions from the Woodland Strategy for Somerset (developed by the Countryside & Coast Team) was that there were many settlements in the County which did not have easy access to woodland areas where people could walk and escape the pressures of every day life for a short while. There are proven mental and physical health benefits associated with exercise in the natural environment.

Planting Eames woodland near Ilminster Woodland becoming established – South Petherton

A programme of community woodland development has been in place for several years. This involves the County acting as an enabler to local communities to establish new native woodland close to where people live where in time they can benefit from publicly accessible woodland. Efforts are made to involve local volunteers in planting and maintaining the woodlands. Funding is available to the Council from the EU WAVE project which links woodland establishment to climate change both in terms of education and carbon reduction.

17

Canals and Waterways (Phil Stone and the Countryside Project Team)

Managing the work of the Countryside Project Team on the Bridgwater & Taunton canal. The canal is a key tourist attraction in the County with a benefit of over £2 million per annum. This is a partnership project, working with British Waterways, Sedgemoor District, Taunton Deane, the Somerset Waterways Trust and Sustrans.

The work involves:

Maintaining and repairing canal swingbridges and other structures to enable navigation on the canal. The swingbridges are owned by SCC following a ten year restoration programme to create a navigable waterway from a derelict canal.

Bathpool pedestrian swing bridge refurbished North Newton swing bridge modified for easy use

Improving public access by creating and maintaining footpaths and 20 miles of cycleways along the canal and river corridors which are in increasing use. This work is carried out by the Countryside Project Team funded from capital bids, external funding and often providing opportunities for employment and training schemes.

Newly surfaced cycleway at Bathpool Cycleway construction at Longrun Meadows

Policies for the canal and river corridor are set by the Somerset Waterways Advisory Committee on which all the relevant partners have representatives. Planning applications for developments adjacent to the corridor are monitored in order to secure planning gain for the canal where appropriate.

18 Establishing and maintaining canal side car parks to encourage recreational use of the canal. Negotiations are in hand to transfer two of these to Parish Councils for future ownership and management as part of the localisation agenda.

Maunsel canalside car park Creech St Michael canalside car park

Acquiring external funding from partners and through external bids for improvement works to canal and river corridors, eg Project Taunton, Big Lottery, Local Transport bids. The canal and river corridor extends from the Silk Mills Park and Ride, along the river Tone through Taunton, to Bridgwater along the canal and along the Parrett to Dunball where a further Park and Ride is planned.

Employment training team building cycleway Cyclists on new ramp for wheelchair users

Visitor/tourist attractions along the canal, such as the Future Perfect boat trips along the canal and river and the Somerset Space Walk are promoted and maintained. Encouragement is given to Waterways Trust projects such as the Future Perfect boat which can accommodate wheelchair user on the river and canal.

19

Future Perfect trip boat Space walk on towpath - Saturn

Working with Project Taunton to maintain and improve areas of amenity land near to the river Tone and enable the public to make good use of the this flood plain which has been acquired for flood attenuation. A Local Nature reserve has been developed on nearby land at Silk Mills. In Bridgwater the Meads Eco Park is being developed next to the canal and the project work will link to this and other wetland areas in and around the town.

New path at St Margaret’s Hospice Silk Mills – SCC Nature reserve

20

Water management / Levels & Moors (Steve Dury)

Steve manages the Somerset part of the European ‘WAVE’ project (Water Adaptation is Valuable for Everybody), which he put together, and which brings in approximately £2 Million into Somerset from 2008-13 to better understand the likely impacts of climate change and the adaptations that will be required to deal with these - £1M of European Regional Development Fund money and £1 Million of matched funding raised by the participating organisations. The project has furthermore leveraged in an additional £4.3M of national funding into Somerset. Local partners include the Environment Agency, Somerset Drainage Boards Consortium, Somerset Wildlife Trust, RSPB, Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG), and at a European level, partners in The Netherlands, France, Belgium and Germany.

WAVE presentation at Spatial Impacts of WAVE workshop Climate Change Conference - Brussels

One example of the WAVE funding is the Brue Valley Living Landscape scheme, a headline longer term scheme run by Somerset Wildlife Trust to restore, recreate and reconnect habitats and the natural environment, as encouraged in the governments Natural Environment White Paper. It aims to ensure that wildlife is enhanced and capable of sustaining itself in the face of climate change while guaranteeing farmers and other landowners can continue to use their land profitably.

Farming and nature conservation are linked West Sedgemoor RSPB Reserve on the Levels

21 Achievements of WAVE to date include:

Environment Agency: Climate Change and its implications for Flood Risk Management - Hydraulic modelling has established the future flood risk effects of the predicted rising sea levels in the Bristol Channel and of increased river flows in the catchment. Outputs have been developed as a series of innovative visualisations for communicating the results.

200 year defended tidal flood extent from Brent Knoll (current)

200 year defended tidal flood extent from Brent Knoll (2110)

200 year undefended tidal flood extent from Brent Knoll (2110)

Somerset Wildlife Trust: The WAVE-funded Brue Valley Living Landscape project aims to help wildlife sustain itself in the face of climate change while guaranteeing farmers and other landowners can continue to use their land profitably. SWT have undertaken 222 advisory visits to landowners (this does not include survey visits for the habitat map) and submitted 17 HLS and 14 ELS applications that will bring almost £2.9 million into the economy of the Somerset Levels and Moors over the next 10 years. SWT have either carried out work or secured Environmental Stewardship funding for work over the next 10 years to achieve the following habitat outcomes:

• Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) habitat improved – 527Ha • BAP habitat restored – 216Ha • BAP habitat created – 23Ha

22 SWT have agreed a plan of restoration work for the largest and most difficult site - purchased with WAVE funding - with the local planning authority, the Environment Agency and Natural England.

SWT’s Quarterly landowner newsletter, View from the Brue, is distributed to 500 landowners and approximately 35 partners. 161 volunteers have contributed 21760 hours to the project, mainly on habitat management (volunteers carried out lots of work restoring sites purchased with WAVE funding), wardening of reserves and botanical surveying. Partners have co-developed a shared Biodiversity Vision, Opportunities Document and NIA application though WAVE, the partners have arrived at a consensus on how wetland conservation should proceed.

WAVE project leaflet WAVE project at Greylake

RSPB/IDB: 1) Floodplain connectivity: the aim is to help integrate winter flood water and habitat management on the important restored peat site at Greylake, with resulting biodiversity and flood mitigation benefits. Installation of water management structures at Greylake has enabled better hydrological connectivity. 2) Adapting the King’s Sedgemoor floodplain to climate change. Measures to significantly improve the resilience and adaptability of the KSM wetland area to likely climate change scenarios (‘climate proofing’). This involves the buffering and extension of the functional wetland beyond the protected site network through series of measures designed to promote more sustainable land and water management in key areas of former peat wetland.

SCC: Increasing woodland cover in key locations can reduce runoff and soil erosion and attenuate flood-flows in parts of the floodplain Community woodlands have been developed on 9 sites throughout Somerset.

FWAG: 1) 50 Farm Water Management Plans – undertaken to look at all water resource issues in terms of water use, retention, quality and storage, and what can be stored / saved through better soil management, land use etc. and 2) 8 Demonstration projects on different sites to conserve and recycle farm water resources.

23

Bioreactor for waste water recycling at FWAG addressing group of farmers (WAVE) Branstons potato factory – partly funded through WAVE

Steve has also developed and recently submitted two further European bids:

1) a successor to WAVE, called DROP (benefit of governance in DROught adaPtation in NWE Europe). As with WAVE, the ‘delivery’ work in Somerset will be undertaken by sub-partners (FWAG, Somerset Drainage Boards Consortium, RSPB, Somerset Wildlife Trust). SCC will project manage and co-ordinate. The total budget for Somerset is £800K i.e. £400K ERDF funding.

2) a funding bid called WOW (Value of Working Wetlands). The overarching theme of the project is to support farmers on the Somerset Levels and Moors in developing skills and opportunities around their wet farmland systems for the benefit of farm businesses, wetland wildlife and the rural economy. The total budget for Somerset is 700K Euros i.e. €350K ERDF funding. As with WAVE, the ‘delivery’ work in Somerset will be undertaken by sub-partners (FWAG, RSPB, Somerset Wildlife Trust). This project will help to find a solution for farmers who have Environmental Sensitive Areas schemes (ESA), on the Levels and Moors, that end between now and 2013. Many of these farmers will come out of the ESA and will not be able to get into a new Higher Level Scheme and thus there is a danger that the good work of the last 25 years could be lost. It is essential that if we are to avoid this situation that new opportunities are created, and farmers and landowners are supported to develop new solutions in tandem with government and non-government agencies. Both DROP and WOW bids are supported by the Somerset Levels Nature Delivery Group and the Levels & Moors Taskforce.

Steve represents SCC on several partnerships, including the Somerset Water Management Partnership, which he coordinates, as well as the Levels Taskforce, and Levels Nature Delivery Group, He is also on the Management Board of the Avalon Marshes Landscape Partnership, which will receive £1.77M funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund over the next 3 years, to deliver a range of projects and activities including biodiversity and habitat improvements; conservation of cultural heritage features and buried archaeology; community participation in arts and events; increased access, bird hides and circular walks; informal learning and interpretation; training and skills

The government is committed to a new catchment-based approach to water management (Water White Paper and various statements by Richard Benyon), and has now established 25 pilot catchments that it will support and evaluate. 10 of these are hosted by EA and 15 by external organizations.

24

Steve represents SCC on the steering Committees of two catchment pilots: Upper Tone and Bristol Avon (includes NE Somerset). Steve has also been appointed by Defra as the Local Authority representative on DEFRA’s Water Quality Professional Advisory Group to advise on the catchment-based approach currently being undertaken.

Peat Extraction Levels and Moors

The Somerset Levels & Moors are an important peatland resource. For many years, peatlands and have been regarded as of little economic interest, and merely the domain of ecologists and biodiversity. However, the value of peatlands extends beyond this, to carbon, water management, biodiversity and tourism. Steve is the Somerset representative of a Defra advisory committee on carbon balances of peatlands. Steve contributed a Case-Study article on the Somerset Levels & Moors ‘Rebuilding the ecological network. Conservation through collaboration for the Somerset Levels and Moors’ to an IUCN booklet: 'Delivering Results: UK Peatland Restoration' . Steve also gave a presentation titled ‘Somerset Levels & Moors: partnership working towards peatland restoration‘ at BES/IUCN Peatland Programme Symposium ‘Investing in Peatlands – Demonstrating Success’, Bangor Univ, June 2012, and was invited to a reception at the House of Lords, to mark findings of the IUCN Commission of Inquiry on Peatlands (April 2012)

The actions contained in the Natural Environment White Paper will create a radical shift on how we view our natural assets by incorporating the natural environment into economic planning and ensuring there are opportunities for businesses that are good for nature and good for a strong green economy. This approach is known as Ecosystem Services. Defra has identified a need for projects to examine, in real-world situations, how discrete areas (or ecosystems) provide the wide range of natural benefits (or ecosystem services) that are valued by society; how the different natural benefits can be delivered in ways that complement and add value to one another; and how systems of governance and policy delivery can best support these multiple benefits. Steve sits on a Steering Group of a DEFRA-funded project ‘Ecosystem Interactions on the Levels & Moors’ that will address this. He was also joint author of paper recently published in Hydrological Sciences Journal: ‘Trade-off in ecosystem services of the Somerset Levels & Moors wetlands’.

25