DOCSLIB.ORG

Natural Areas in the South West Region

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Natural Areas in the South West Region Natural Areas in the South West Region helping to set the regional agenda for nature Introduction egional strategies and policy The conservation of nature is a key local and national priorities for nature documents are being drawn test of policy in all three facets of into the Regional decision-making R up by the newly-created sustainable development, the social, framework. It contains information of Regional organisations. These are the economic and the environmental. direct relevance to the development required to encompass the protection While its role in the environment is of Regional Planning Guidance and and management of the environment self evident, it also has social Single Programming Documents to by applying the principles of implications through the spiritual, support the delivery of European sustainable development. cultural and recreational value of Union Structural Funding, people’s experience of the natural regeneration funding and other This document has been produced world; and economic implications economic and social programmes. by English Nature, the Government through the provision of exploitable body that promotes the conservation resources and the attractiveness to The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries of wildlife and natural features investors of high quality and Food, the Environment Agency, throughout England. It is for use by environments. the country forestry organisations, the Regional Development Agency, local authorities and statutory and the Government Regional Office If we are serious about achieving other agencies involved in land use and the Regional Chambers, when sustainable development, then and land management issues will also making Regional policy. We hope understanding the priorities for the find it relevant and, we hope, of value. that it will provide a starting point conservation of the biodiversity and for discussion with our network of Earth heritage resource of the Region We envisage that this document can Regional Lead Teams, who can is therefore essential. This report is a therefore be used at a number of key provide valuable support, and links first step towards that understanding, points within the Regional strategy- into wider partnerships. and provides the basis for integrating making and planning process. Chesil Beach, Dorset. Peter Wakely/English Nature South West Region Introduction 3 Natural Areas as a Regional framework for nature English Nature has divided England into a series of Natural Areas. Their boundaries are based on the distribution of wildlife and natural features and the land use patterns and human history of each area. They do not follow administrative boundaries but relate instead to variations in the character of the landscape. They reflect our cultural heritage and are central to English Nature’s organisational strategy Beyond 2000. We worked with the Countryside Commission (soon to become the Countryside Agency) to identify a joint approach to the characterisation of the countryside into locally distinctive units called character areas. Where the wildlife and natural features are similar between adjacent character areas we have merged them into one Natural Area - so, a Natural Area may contain sevaral character areas that are considered to be different landscape types. Natural Areas offer a more effective framework for the planning and achievement of nature conservation objectives than do administrative boundaries. Although they are not formal Avon Gorge NNR, Bristol. Peter Wakely/English Nature designations they are now recognised in Government Planning Policy Guidance Relevant Government Planning Policy Guidance (PPG) (PPG) and other statutory advice. PPG 7: The Countryside: environmental quality and economic and Within this framework, we have, with social development our key partners in the Region, PPG 9: Nature Conservation identified the chief threats to, and PPG 11: Regional Planning Guidance opportunities for, nature conservation. PPG 12: Development Plans and Regional Planning Guidance Together, we have defined a range of (presently under review) issues, and set associated objectives PPG 13: Transport that we believe provide a starting point for Regional action to protect and Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions Policy Guidance: Policy manage our biodiversity and geological appraisal and the environment (DETR, 1998). assets. These objectives are set out in the sections which follow. South West Region Introduction 4 Regional boundary 61 Dean Plateau 56 Severn 63 Thames and Wye Valley and Avon and Avon Vales Vales y ar u st E 85 Somerset n 55 Cotswolds Levels and er ev Moors S 79 Berkshire & 88 Vale of Taunton 16 and Quantock 1 Marlborough Fringes 115 Bridgwater Downs Bay 84 Mendip 86 Hills 87 Exmoor and 80 South 62 Bristol, the Quantocks 87 Wessex Avon Valleys Downs and Ridges 86 83 Wessex Vales 114 Land’s End to 93 The Culm Minehead 90 Devon 89 Blackdowns Redlands 81 Dorset 92 Dartmoor Heaths 94 Bodmin Moor 82 111 Lyme Bay 109 Solent and Poole Bay 96 West 91 South 110 South Penwith Devon Dorset Coast 95 Cornishand Granites Killas 82 Isles of 113 Isles of Portland and Scilly 86 Mid Somerset Hills Purbeck 97 The 112 Start Point to Lizard Land’s End Natural Areas covered in the South West Region report Objectives for The Region contains a diversity of Dartmoor and Exmoor, the wet landscapes which support a grasslands of Somerset, the varied sustainable characteristic and remarkable wet heath of the Culm Measures in development and combination of wildlife and Devon and the rolling chalk nature conservation in geological heritage. The Cotswolds downlands of Wiltshire. and the chalklands of Wiltshire and the South West Region Dorset are dominated by the large The distribution of wildlife and the scale, open spaces of pastoral texture of the landscape are the The South West is a region of farming. Densely wooded ancient product of complex interactions. dramatic, and often sharp contrasts. countryside is found in the Forest of The basic physical qualities of the Whilst agriculture is the dominant Dean and Cranborne Chase, whilst rock, soil and climate have set the land use and underpins the rural the Mendips is an area of discrete scene, but the detail has been, and economy, large urban populations and varied hills and escarpments. will continue to be, shaped through are concentrated around the Elsewhere there are intimate patterns human activity which is driven by business and industry of the major of small fields, hamlets and winding economic, social, and environmental sea ports, primarily Bristol and lanes, rugged coasts and upland forces. Plymouth. The countryside and moorland. There is an outstanding natural beauty, in particular the diversity of habitats and species that Our ability to exploit the environment coast (which is proportionately the are very rare, and of very high quality, for economic gain is beginning to longest of any Region) and the of which the Region can be justifiably jeopardise our present and future National Parks, is the mainstay of a proud. Prime examples include the well-being. Since our decisions can significant tourism industry. heathland of Dorset, the uplands of have far-reaching effects on present South West Region Introduction 5 and future generations, we need to Its importance is reflected in the look at how we can act to maintain issues and objectives that are and improve both our local and listed at the start of each section. global environments. There is no doubt that work at the Regional level The intensification of agriculture, and can be a powerful force in steering associated decline in traditional land local agendas for environmental management, combined with the action, whilst providing strong links huge growth of the major towns and to national and international cities, has resulted in the reclamation programmes. and loss of much of the lowland semi- natural habitat of value to wildlife in Sustainable development requires the South West Region. The semi- integration, rather than balance or natural habitats that remain are often trade off. Decision makers need to small and isolated and are adversely build environmental and social criteria affected by agricultural practices and into the heart of their policies and pressure from development, including programmes - and ensure that they the use of pesticides and fertilisers, are given the same weight as run-off of pollutants from industrial economic considerations at the Devil’s Chimney, Gloucestershire. and housing estates, and the lowering beginning of the process. Ruth Briggs/English Nature of water tables through drainage and This is what is meant by integration, the quality of towns or cities is abstraction. and contrasts with the more familiar maintained or improved. The situation, where proposals are drawn challenge will be to determine which The populations of birds, mammals up against economic criteria alone patterns and locations of development and plants which rely on the and are only weighed against their prove most sustainable. agricultural systems themselves have environmental impact when they are also plummeted. Major priorities about to be implemented. Conserving and enhancing nature can therefore include: the sensitive be compatible with development and, management of existing habitats; The basic means for many of the whilst the built environment has fewer increasing the area of existing habitats Regional level structures and designated sites, Local Nature and re-establishing the links between organisations to act will be through
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Draft Topic Paper 5: Natural Environment/Biodiversity
    Wiltshire Local Development Framework Working towards a Core Strategy for Wiltshire Draft topic paper 5: Natural environment/biodiversity Wiltshire Core Strategy Consultation June 2011 Wiltshire Council Information about Wiltshire Council services can be made available on request in other languages including BSL and formats such as large print and audio. Please contact the council on 0300 456 0100, by textphone on 01225 712500 or by email on [email protected]. Wiltshire Core Strategy Natural Environment Topic Paper 1 This paper is one of 18 topic papers, listed below, which form part of the evidence base in support of the emerging Wiltshire Core Strategy. These topic papers have been produced in order to present a coordinated view of some of the main evidence that has been considered in drafting the emerging Core Strategy. It is hoped that this will make it easier to understand how we had reached our conclusions. The papers are all available from the council website: Topic Paper TP1: Climate Change TP2: Housing TP3: Settlement Strategy TP4: Rural Issues (signposting paper) TP5: Natural Environment/Biodiversity TP6: Water Management/Flooding TP7: Retail TP8: Economy TP9: Planning Obligations TP10: Built and Historic Environment TP11:Transport TP12: Infrastructure TP13: Green Infrastructure TP14:Site Selection Process TP15:Military Issues TP16:Building Resilient Communities TP17: Housing Requirement Technical Paper TP18: Gypsy and Travellers 2 Table of Contents Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................5
    [Show full text]
  • Wiltshire Botany
    WILTSHIRE BOTANY JOURNAL OF THE WILTSHIRE BOTANICAL SOCIETY ISSUE NO. 3, February 2000 CONTENTS 1 E DITORIAL 2 The Flora of Berwick St. James Barbara Last 15 Grassland Communities on Salisbury Plain Training Area: Results of the ITE ecological survey Kevin Walker and Richard Pywell 28 The recent history of Batology in Wiltshire Rob Randall 33 Plant records 1997 35 Addition to 1996 records 36 Plant records 1998 Wiltshire Botany 3, 2000, page1 EDITORIAL Each issue of Wiltshire Botany so far has managed to break new ground. This issue contains the first village flora to be included. Barbara Last has systematically recorded the plants growing in Berwick St James, and her article gives an account of her findings. Hopefully, it will inspire others to do similar work in their own localities. Our second article is the first systematic account we have published on the vegetation of Salisbury Plain. In this case, Kevin Walker and Richard Pywell describe the grassland communities of the MoD Training Area. Kevin and Richard can be contacted at the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, Monks Wood, Abbots Ripton, Huntingdon, Cambs., PE17 2LS. Tel. 01487 773381.Fax. 01487 773467. Email; [email protected] Innovation is complemented by continuity. Rob Randall’s article continues his account of the history of recording the many different species of bramble in Wiltshire. His account brings us more or less up to the present day. It is hoped that the next issue will contain what is effectively an up-to-date bramble flora of Wiltshire. As in previous issues, a selection of the Society’s plant records is included.
    [Show full text]
  • Accounting for National Nature Reserves
    Natural England Research Report NERR078 Accounting for National Nature Reserves: A Natural Capital Account of the National Nature Reserves managed by Natural England www.gov.uk/naturalACCOUNTING FOR-england NATIONAL NATURE RESERVES Natural England Research Report NERR078 Accounting for National Nature Reserves: A Natural Capital Account of the National Nature Reserves managed by Natural England Tim Sunderland1, Ruth Waters1, Dan Marsh2, Cat Hudson1 and Jane Lusardi1 Published 21st February 2019 1 Natural England 2 University of Waikato, New Zealand This report is published by Natural England under the Open Government Licence - OGLv3.0 for public sector information. You are encouraged to use, and reuse, information subject to certain conditions. For details of the licence visit Copyright. Natural England photographs are only available for non commercial purposes. If any other information such as maps or data cannot be used commercially this will be made clear within the report. ISBN 978-1-78354-518-6 © Natural England 2018 ACCOUNTING FOR NATIONAL NATURE RESERVES Project details This report should be cited as: SUNDERLAND, T., WATERS, R.D., MARSH, D. V. K., HUDSON, C., AND LUSARDI, J. (2018). Accounting for National Nature Reserves: A natural capital account of the National Nature Reserves managed by Natural England. Natural England Research Report, Number 078 Project manager Tim Sunderland Principal Specialist in Economics Horizon House Bristol BS1 5TL [email protected] Acknowledgements We would like to thank everyone who contributed to this report both within Natural England and externally. ii Natural England Research Report 078 Foreword England’s National Nature Reserves (NNRs) are the crown jewels of our natural heritage.
    [Show full text]
  • Beatrice Louisa Sturmey
    Beatrice Louisa Sturmey Born 26th December 1879, birth registered in Sturminster, Dorset. In 1881 the census showed her being born in Fifehead, Dorset as they the daughter of James Sturmey, a carter, and his wife Lucy and they were living in Winterbourne St Martin. Other family members were: Mary E (age 11) Annie M (age 7) Ida M (age 3) 1n 1891, the family was living at Wareham Road, Poxwell and Ida and Mary were no longer part of the household. The household now included Florence (age 3) William (aged 2) and a lodger Walter Harris aged 21 In the 1901 census the family was recorded as living in Affpuddle and the only sibling to Beatrice now shown is Francis W aged 12 and the only other member of the household is Beatrice’s daughter Elsie May, then aged 2. Beatrice and her daughters Elsie and Lilian are recorded living in the Poole Workhouse in the 1911 census. Beatrice Sturmey is recorded as dying in 1939 and a death certificate confirms her death on 26th September 1939 at the age of 59. This ties in with a birth in 1879 and no other Beatrice Sturmey is recorded at that time anywhere. There was only one Beatrice Sturmey in the census returns for 1881, 1891 and 1901. Beatrice was, according to an Identity card issued in Poole, working as a Domestic Nurse in 1913 in the Waterloo district of Poole. Beatrice had another daughter Lilian Louisa whose birth was registered in Wareham in 1906. Only one Lilian Sturmey was recorded anywhere in the country.
    [Show full text]
  • Pre-Submission Habitats Regulations Assessment Screening Report
    Wiltshire & Swindon Aggregate Minerals Site Allocations DPD Pre-Submission Habitats Regulations Assessment Screening Report January 2012 Centre for Sustainability at TRL in association with Enfusion Wiltshire & Swindon Aggregate Minerals Site Allocations DPD Habitats Regulations Assessment Screening Report Report Number: RPN2028 Version: FINAL Prepared by: Rob Gardner Checked by: Clare Harmer Client: Wiltshire Council and Swindon Borough Council Copyright: TRL Limited January 2012 This report has been prepared for Wiltshire Council and Swindon Borough Council, is unpublished and should not be referred to in any other document or publication without the permission of Wiltshire Council and Swindon Borough Council. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of Wiltshire Council and Swindon Borough Council. Table of Contents Executive Summary ...................................................................................... i 1 Introduction .......................................................................................... 1 1.1 Requirement for Habitats Regulations Assessment .............................. 1 1.2 Guidance for Habitats Regulations Assessment ................................... 1 1.3 Consultation ................................................................................... 2 1.4 Purpose & Structure of Report .......................................................... 3 2 Minerals and Waste Development Framework ............................................ 4 2.1 Introduction ..................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Environment Agency Midlands Region Wetland Sites Of
    LA - M icllanAs <? X En v ir o n m e n t A g e n c y ENVIRONMENT AGENCY MIDLANDS REGION WETLAND SITES OF SPECIAL SCIENTIFIC INTEREST REGIONAL MONITORING STRATEGY John Davys Groundwater Resources Olton Court July 1999 E n v i r o n m e n t A g e n c y NATIONAL LIBRARY & INFORMATION SERVICE ANGLIAN REGION Kingfisher House. Goldhay Way. Orton Goldhay, Peterborough PE2 5ZR 1 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................... 3 1.) The Agency's Role in Wetland Conservation and Management....................................................3 1.2 Wetland SSSIs in the Midlands Region............................................................................................ 4 1.3 The Threat to Wetlands....................................................................................................................... 4 1.4 Monitoring & Management of Wetlands...........................................................................................4 1.5 Scope of the Report..............................................................................................................................4 1.6 Structure of the Report.......................................................................................................................5 2 SELECTION OF SITES....................................................................................................................... 7 2.1 Definition of a Wetland Site................................................................................................................7
    [Show full text]
  • Cornish Archaeology 41–42 Hendhyscans Kernow 2002–3
    © 2006, Cornwall Archaeological Society CORNISH ARCHAEOLOGY 41–42 HENDHYSCANS KERNOW 2002–3 EDITORS GRAEME KIRKHAM AND PETER HERRING (Published 2006) CORNWALL ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY © 2006, Cornwall Archaeological Society © COPYRIGHT CORNWALL ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY 2006 No part of this volume may be reproduced without permission of the Society and the relevant author ISSN 0070 024X Typesetting, printing and binding by Arrowsmith, Bristol © 2006, Cornwall Archaeological Society Contents Preface i HENRIETTA QUINNELL Reflections iii CHARLES THOMAS An Iron Age sword and mirror cist burial from Bryher, Isles of Scilly 1 CHARLES JOHNS Excavation of an Early Christian cemetery at Althea Library, Padstow 80 PRU MANNING and PETER STEAD Journeys to the Rock: archaeological investigations at Tregarrick Farm, Roche 107 DICK COLE and ANDY M JONES Chariots of fire: symbols and motifs on recent Iron Age metalwork finds in Cornwall 144 ANNA TYACKE Cornwall Archaeological Society – Devon Archaeological Society joint symposium 2003: 149 archaeology and the media PETER GATHERCOLE, JANE STANLEY and NICHOLAS THOMAS A medieval cross from Lidwell, Stoke Climsland 161 SAM TURNER Recent work by the Historic Environment Service, Cornwall County Council 165 Recent work in Cornwall by Exeter Archaeology 194 Obituary: R D Penhallurick 198 CHARLES THOMAS © 2006, Cornwall Archaeological Society © 2006, Cornwall Archaeological Society Preface This double-volume of Cornish Archaeology marks the start of its fifth decade of publication. Your Editors and General Committee considered this milestone an appropriate point to review its presentation and initiate some changes to the style which has served us so well for the last four decades. The genesis of this style, with its hallmark yellow card cover, is described on a following page by our founding Editor, Professor Charles Thomas.
    [Show full text]
  • Topography and Landscape
    CHAPTER III TOPOGRAPHY AND LANDSCAPE This section considers the environment forming the geological formations have given rise to other areas backdrop to this study of early Cornish sculpture. of higher ground, like the Staddon Grit (the St Dictated by the underlying geology, influenced by Breock Downs south of Padstow: Bristow 2004, 48). the prevailing climate, moulded by human activities, Through mineralization associated with its intrusion, and coloured by the plants growing on it, the physical the granites have had a great influence on Cornwall’s aspects of a county need to be understood in order to economy. The granite moors decrease in extent and appreciate the way people have interacted with it over height along the length of the county from Bodmin millennia. To aid understanding of a county which to Moor in the east, crowned by Brown Willy which at outsiders is still recognised as somehow ‘different’ from 420 m is the highest hill in Cornwall, to the western the rest of England, this account is in three parts. The first tip of Cornwall, where the granite cliffs, though considers the strictly geographical factors. In the second majestic and impressive, stand less than 00 m high. part, these basic facts are enlivened with the personal Further west, though not a part of this land-mass, the accounts and reactions of early visitors to Cornwall Isles of Scilly are the final link in the granite chain. who then, as today, perceived Cornwall as somehow The granite areas are characterised by rolling uplands ‘different’. The final part is a brief summary of the from which occasional craggy tors erupt, surrounded historic landscape character of Cornwall.
    [Show full text]
  • Environmental Protection Final Draft Report
    Environmental Protection Final Draft Report ANNUAL CLASSIFICATION OF RIVER WATER QUALITY 1992: NUMBERS OF SAMPLES EXCEEDING THE QUALITY STANDARD June 1993 FWS/93/012 Author: R J Broome Freshwater Scientist NRA C.V.M. Davies National Rivers Authority Environmental Protection Manager South West R egion ANNUAL CLASSIFICATION OF RIVER WATER QUALITY 1992: NUMBERS OF SAMPLES EXCEEDING TOE QUALITY STANDARD - FWS/93/012 This report shows the number of samples taken and the frequency with which individual determinand values failed to comply with National Water Council river classification standards, at routinely monitored river sites during the 1992 classification period. Compliance was assessed at all sites against the quality criterion for each determinand relevant to the River Water Quality Objective (RQO) of that site. The criterion are shown in Table 1. A dashed line in the schedule indicates no samples failed to comply. This report should be read in conjunction with Water Quality Technical note FWS/93/005, entitled: River Water Quality 1991, Classification by Determinand? where for each site the classification for each individual determinand is given, together with relevant statistics. The results are grouped in catchments for easy reference, commencing with the most south easterly catchments in the region and progressing sequentially around the coast to the most north easterly catchment. ENVIRONMENT AGENCY 110221i i i H i m NATIONAL RIVERS AUTHORITY - 80UTH WEST REGION 1992 RIVER WATER QUALITY CLASSIFICATION NUMBER OF SAMPLES (N) AND NUMBER
    [Show full text]
  • Report on the Joint World Heritage Centre / ICOMOS Advisory Mission to Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites
    World Heritage 41 COM Patrimoine mondial Paris, 27 June / 27 juin 2017 Original: English UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION ORGANISATION DES NATIONS UNIES POUR L'EDUCATION, LA SCIENCE ET LA CULTURE CONVENTION CONCERNING THE PROTECTION OF THE WORLD CULTURAL AND NATURAL HERITAGE CONVENTION CONCERNANT LA PROTECTION DU PATRIMOINE MONDIAL, CULTUREL ET NATUREL WORLD HERITAGE COMMITTEE / COMITE DU PATRIMOINE MONDIAL Forty-first session / Quarante-et-unième session Krakow, Poland / Cracovie, Pologne 2-12 July 2017 / 2-12 juillet 2017 Item 7 of the Provisional Agenda: State of conservation of properties inscribed on the World Heritage List and/or on the List of World Heritage in Danger Point 7 de l’Ordre du jour provisoire: Etat de conservation de biens inscrits sur la Liste du patrimoine mondial et/ou sur la Liste du patrimoine mondial en péril MISSION REPORT / RAPPORT DE MISSION Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) (373bis) Stonehenge, Avebury et sites associés (Royaume-Uni de Grande-Bretagne et d'Irlande du Nord) (373bis) 31 January – 3 February 2017 Report on the joint World Heritage Centre / ICOMOS Advisory Mission to Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated sites 31 January – 3 February 2017 Table of contents Executive Summary 1. Introductory Statements 1.1 Acknowledgments 1.2. Aims and mandate of the February 2017 Mission 2. Context and background 2.1 Statement of Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) 2.2 Summary 1st Mission recommendations (October 2015 – report April 2016). 2.3 Reactions by the civil society 2.4 Governance and consensus building among heritage bodies 3. Responses by the SP to the recommendations of the first Mission - April 2016 3.1 Willingness to respond 3.2 Issues of archaeological organisation and quality control 3.3 Issue of visitor numbers and behaviour 4.
    [Show full text]
  • Draft Blisland Parish Landscape Character Assessment
    The Blisland Parish Landscape Character Assessment The Landscape Character Assessment Process Section Contents Page 1 Foreword and Background to the Assessment 1 2 What is ‘Landscape’ , What is ‘Landscape Assessment’ and what is the ‘Blisland Parish Landscape Assessment’ 2 3 The Parish Landscape Character Map 3 4 The Use and Detail of the Assessment 4 5 Examples of the various ‘Land Characteristics’ in the Parish 5 6 High Moorland 6 - 10 7 Elevated Undulating Land 11 - 16 8 River Valleys 17 - 22 9 Pressures and Forces for change 23 - 24 10 Landscape Management and Development Considerations 25 11 The importance of the Local Landscape 26 12 Blisland Parish Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Map and Blisland Parish Area of Great Landscape Value Map 27 13 Blisland Parish Scheduled Monuments Map 28 14 Blisland Parish Sites of Special Scientific Interest Map 29 15 Blisland Parish Wildlife Resource Map 30 16 Blisland Parish Open Access Land and Public Footpaths Map 31 17 The Relationship between the Blisland Local Landscape Character Assessment (LLCA) and the Blisland Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) 32 Foreword by Stephanie Meads, Chair of Blisland Parish Council. ‘Producing a Local Landscape Character Assessment (LLCA) for Blisland Parish has been a key piece of work for the Neighbourhood Development Plan. Community consultations have emphasised the importance of our moorland environment to all who live and work here, and how much the landscape is valued by both local residents and visitors. The Local Landscape Character Assessment project describes what it is that evokes such strong passions and feelings for where we live, work and play and how important it is that this is preserved for future generations to enjoy.
    [Show full text]
  • Notes on Birds in the Severn and Avon Vales (The “Severn Hams”), Gloucestershire and South Worcestershire April – June 2007
    Notes on birds in the Severn and Avon Vales (the “Severn Hams”), Gloucestershire and south Worcestershire April – June 2007 General introduction The main sites are (from the north): Upton Ham (Worcs): the Upper Ham, a hay meadow south of the town, is an SSSI and is the best conserved of the riverside hams in botanical terms; south of the old railway embankment is the Lower Ham; across the river is Ryall Gravel Pit, still being exploited, and a magnet for many waterbirds, notably waders. Longdon Marsh (Worcs), a nearly enclosed basin north of the M50 motorway, flowing via Bushley Brook to the Severn above Tewkesbury. Avon Meadows (on either side of the Avon north of Tewkesbury), along the border between Gloucestershire and Worcestershire, and including: the restored gravel pits at Bredon’s Hardwick (Worcs); Upham Meadow (sometimes called the “Great Hay Meadow”) and Summer Leasow at Twyning (Glos); Rectory Farm Meadows, a botanical SSSI across the Avon from Upham Meadow (Worcs); Strensham Pits, sludge pools below the waterworks at Strensham (Worcs); further north along the Avon is Gwen Finch Worcestershire Wildlife Trust Reserve near Nafford (Worcs), an area of shallow lakes by the Avon. Just to the east is Kemerton Lake (Worcs), a restored gravel pit in the valley of the Carrant Brook, which flows through Cowfield Marsh into the Avon just above Tewkesbury. The “Severn Hams” proper, between Tewkesbury and Gloucester, in which the main wetland areas are: Ashleworth and Hasfield Hams; Coombe Hill Canal and Meadows (including Cobney Meadows at the western end); and the Leigh Meadows alongside the River Chelt and Leigh Brook above Wainlodes.
    [Show full text]