DesktopBiodiversityReport LandatWalbertonParish ESD/14/227 PeterBrown 6thMay2014 ThisreportisnottobepassedontothirdpartieswithoutpriorpermissionoftheSussexBiodiversityRecordCentre.Pleasebe awarethatprintingmapsfromthisreportrequiresanappropriateOSlicence. Ar02 - Binsted Wood Complex; Ar07 - Rewell Wood Complex. None Environmental Stewardship Agreement; Local Geological Site; National Park; National Trust Property; Notable Road Verge. Ancient tree; Ancient woodland; Chalk stream; Coastal and floodplain grazing marsh; Lowland fen; Lowland heathland; Traditional orchard; Wood-pasture and parkland. Importantinformationregardingthisreport Itmustnotbeassumedthatthisreportcontainsthedefinitivespeciesinformationforthesiteconcerned. ThespeciesdataheldbytheSussexBiodiversityRecordCentre(SxBRC)iscollatedfromthebiologicalrecording communityinSussex.However,therearemanyareasofSussexwheretherecordsheldarelimited,eitherspatiallyor taxonomically. AdesktopbiodiversityreportfromSxBRCwillgivetheuseraclearindicationofwhatbiologicalrecordinghastaken placewithintheareaoftheirenquiry.Theinformationprovidedisausefultoolformakinganassessmentofthesite, butshouldbeusedinconjunctionwithsitevisitsandappropriatesurveysbeforefurtherjudgementsonthepresence orabsenceofkeyspeciesorhabitatscanbemade.Itmaybethatthecontentofthisreportguidesthereaderasto whichsurveysshouldbecarriedoutonthesite. ThisreportwascompiledusingdataheldatSxBRCatthetimeofproduction.SxBRCtakesdatavalidationvery seriously,butcannotbeheldresponsiblefortheaccuracyofdataincludedinthisreport. Copyright TheSussexBiodiversityRecordCentremustbeacknowledgedinalldocumentscontaininganypartofthe informationcontainedinthisreport.YoucanalsousethewholeofaSxBRCreport(unedited)asanappendixinyour ownreport. TheSxBRCoperatesasagenttotheindividualsandgroupswhoprovidetheirrecordsfreeofcharge.Thedata suppliersretaincopyrightontheirdata,whileSxBRCretainscopyrightonitsdesktopbiodiversityreports. Datausage Thedatacontainedwithinthisreportisforuseintheprojectforwhichthedatawasrequested.Itisnottobeshared withthirdpartiesforuseinotherprojects,unlesspermissionisgrantedfromSxBRC. Thedatamaybeusedfor12months,afterwhichareplacementSxBRCreportmustberequested.Thisensuresthe mostuptodateinformationisbeingused. OrdnanceSurveymaps MembersofthepublicwishingtoreproducemapsmadebySxBRCunderEastandWestSussexCountyCouncilor BrightonandHoveCityCouncillicencesmustusecopyingfacilitiesthathavebeenauthorisedbyOrdnanceSurvey (OS).FurtherinformationcanbefoundontheOSwebsite. Impartiality SxBRCfunctionsascustodianofbiologicaldata.Ourroleistocollect,manageanddisseminatewildlifeandhabitat data.Assuch,wehavetoremainimpartialandcannotofferopinionsonthebiodiversityvalueofagivensite. Similarly,wecannotputforwardobjectionstoplanningapplicationsorbeinvolvedincampaigns. Supplyingrecords Ourdesktopbiodiversityreportsareonlyasgoodasthedatawehold.Werelyonthecontinuoussubmissionof recordstokeepourdatabaseuptodate.Wearealwaysgratefultoreceiverecordsfromecologicalconsultantsand membersofthepublicalike.Weacceptrecordsinmanydifferentformats–pleaseseeourwebsiteformoredetails. ConfidentialRecords Badgers BadgersareoneofourmostrecognisablenativeBritishmammals.Theyarenot consideredrarebutareprotectedalongwiththeirsettsunderTheProtectionof BadgersAct1992andschedule6oftheWildlifeandCountrysideAct(1981,as amended). Itisanoffencetokill,injure,ortakeabadgerorinterferewithabadgersett. “Interference”isdefinedbysection3ofTheProtectionofBadgersActandincludesdamagingordestroyingabadger sett,obstructinganyentrancetoasettandalsodisturbingabadgerwhenitisoccupyingasett.Ifyouneedtodoany workneartoasett(within30m)youmustcontactNaturalEnglandforguidanceasyouractivitiesmayrequirea licence. Withcontinuedpersecutionofbadgers,oftenforthemostcruelandbarbaric‘sport’,detailedbadgerrecordsare notincludedinourspeciesinventoryreports,asithasbeenrequestedthattheyremainconfidential.However,the totalnumberofbadgerrecordswithintheenquiryareaisgiveninthefullspecieslist,ifthishasbeenrequested. IfyouneedfurtherinformationaboutbadgersinyourenquiryareapleasecalltheBadgerTrustSussexon07910 198720orvisittheirwebsite:www.badgertrustsussex.org.uk Thefollowingspeciesarenotincludedindesktopbiodiversityreports,butareflaggedupasconfidential attheendoftheseparatespeciesinventories. Otters OttersareslowlymakingareturntoSussexafterbecomingextinctinthe1960s,but arenowhereneartheirformernumbersandremainveryvulnerable. Ifthereisariverortributarywithin1kmofyourenquiryareapleasebeawareofthe potentialforottersinthevicinity,especiallyifyouareundertakingoperationsthat mayimpactpotentialotterhabitat. OttersareprotectedbyEuropeanandUKlaw.ItisanoffenceundertheWildlifeand CountrysideAct1981tokill,injureortakeanotterfromthewildwithoutalicence;todamageorobstructaholt;or disturbanotterinitsrestingplace.Licencesarerequiredforcheckingholtsorforcarryingoutworkthatmaydisturb otters,suchasthemanagementoftreesthatareknowntobeusedasrestingsites.NaturalEnglandareresponsible forissuingtheselicencesinEngland. Ifyourequirefurtherinformationaboutottersinyourenquiryarea,pleasecontactSxBRC.Permissiontorelease recorddetailswillberequiredfromtheSussexWetlandLandscapesProjectandSxBRCwillliasewiththeproject officerontheenquirer’sbehalf. WoodWhiteandDukeofBurgundybutterflies ThesetworarebutterflyspecieshaveaveryrestrictedrangeinSussexandrecordshavebeenmadeconfidential basedonadvicegivenfromButterflyConservationSussexBranch. Otherconfidentialrecords SxBRCholdsrecordsofotherspeciesthatareconfidential.Confidentialitycanbeforavarietyofreasonsbutisusually tobenefitthesiteorthespecies.Fulldetailsoftheserecordsarenotdisclosedbuttheenquirerisreferredbackto SxBRCiffurtherinformationisneeded. AnyconfidentialrecordsforyourenquiryareawillbeflaggedupattheendoftheProtectedSpeciesRegister,Rare SpeciesInventoryandBAPSpeciesInventory. Birds SxBRCholdsnearly1.5millionbirdrecordsprovidedbytheSussexOrnithologicalSociety(SOS).Commercialdata requestswillautomaticallyincludeaNotableBirdReport,whichisbasedonalistofbirdsthatareparticularlyscarce orvulnerabletodevelopmentinSussex.Noncommercialdatarequestswillnotincluderecordsfromthislist,butwill bedirectedtotheSOSforfurtherinformation. MAPS Therearethreemapsincludedinastandarddesktopbiodiversityreportwhichshowdesignatedsites(statutoryand nonstatutory);habitatsandnaturalfeatures;andownershipandmanagement. Thekeyonamaponlyshowsthoselayerswhicharelocatedwithintheenquiryareaorimmediatearea.Belowisalist ofalllayerswhichwecurrentlyuseinourmaps,withdetailsofthedatasource: Designatedsites Statutory AreaofOutstandingNaturalBeauty(AONB) DownloadedfromNEwebsite. CountryPark DownloadedfromNEwebsite. LocalNatureReserve(LNR) DownloadedfromNEwebsite. MarineSiteofNatureConservationImportance SuppliedbyESCCin2005. (MSNCI) NationalNatureReserve(NNR) DownloadedfromNEwebsite. NationalPark DownloadedfromNEwebsite. Ramsar DownloadedfromNEwebsite. SiteofSpecialScientificInterest(SSSI) DownloadedfromNEwebsite. SpecialAreaofConservation(SAC) DownloadedfromNEwebsite. SpecialProtectionArea(SPA) DownloadedfromNEwebsite. NonStatutory LocalGeologicalSite(LGS) OriginallysuppliedashanddrawnmapsbytheBoothMuseum (Brighton)in2009,LGSboundariesweredigitisedbySxBRC.Site boundariesarenowadministeredbySxBRCandtheSussexGeodiversity Partnershipandhavebeenfurtherimprovedasaresultofground surveysduring2010to2012. NotableRoadVerge OwnedandprovidedbyESCCandWSCC. SiteofNatureConservationImportance(SNCI) SuppliedbyWSCC,ESCC&BHCC. Habitatsandnaturalfeatures Ancient/veterantree MergeddatasetcreatedinJuly2009.DatafromAncientTreeHunt (nationalsurveycarriedoutin2007/2008)andTreeRegisterofthe BritishIsles(acharitywhichcollatesandupdatesdataonnotabletrees). Ancientwoodland DownloadedfromNEwebsite. Blackpoplar CreatedbySxBRCbaseduponspeciesrecordsarisingfromSussex WetlandLandscapesProject. Chalkstream CreatedandownedbySWLPandSxBRC. Coastal&floodplaingrazingmarsh DownloadedfromNEwebsite. Coastalsaltmarsh SuppliedbyEA,basedondatafromtheSRCMPHabitatMapping Project. Coastalsanddune SuppliedbyEA,basedondatafromtheSRCMPHabitatMapping Project. Coastalvegetatedshingle DownloadedfromNEwebsite. Ghyllwoodland BoundariesdrawnonpapermapsbyDrFrancisRosewhichwerethen digitisedbySxBRC.Notgroundtruthed. Intertidalchalk SuppliedbyEA,basedondatafromtheSRCMPHabitatMapping Project. Intertidalmudflat SuppliedbyEA,basedondatafromtheSRCMPHabitatMapping Project. Lowlandcalcareousgrassland MergeddatasetfromNEandSDJCsources,createdin2005. AdministeredbySxBRC. Lowlandfen CreatedbySxBRCinJune2011.Layerisanamalgamationofallthefen datacurrentlyavailabletoSxBRC. Lowlandheathland HighWealdHeathlanddatacreatedbytheHighWealdUnitin2006.The restofSussexHeathlanddatawascreatedbySxBRC,withfundingfrom WSCCandRSPBin2007. Lowlandmeadow DownloadedfromNEwebsite. Maritimecliffandslope SuppliedbyEA,basedondatafromtheSRCMPHabitatMapping Project. Openwater DerivedfromOSmapping.Thisincludesinlandandtidal,runningand standingwater. Reedbed CreatedbySxBRCinJune2011.Layerisanamalgamationofallthe reedbeddatacurrentlyavailabletoSxBRC. Salinelagoon DownloadedfromNEwebsite. Traditionalorchard DownloadedfromNEwebsite. Woodpasture&parkland DownloadedfromNEwebsite. Ownershipandmanagement EnvironmentalStewardshipAgreement DownloadedfromNEwebsite. NationalTrustproperty OwnedandprovidedbyNationalTrust. RSPBreserve OwnedandprovidedbyRSPB.Downloadablefromtheirwebsite. SussexWildlifeTrustreserve CreatedandmaintainedbySxBRConbehalfofSWT. WoodlandTrustsite OwnedandprovidedbytheWoodlandTrust. Abbreviations BHCC BrightonandHoveCityCouncil EA EnvironmentAgency ESCC EastSussexCountyCouncil