CABINET – 21ST JANUARY 2016 Report of the Strategic Director of Neighbourhoods and Community Wellbeing Lead Member: Councillor Hilary Fryer Part A ITEM 6 DECLARATION OF LOCAL NATURE RESERVES Purpose of Report The purpose of the report is to seek approval for four new Local Nature Reserves (LNRs) at Stonebow Washlands, Gorse Covert, Booth Wood and Pignut Spinney Marsh. The report also seeks to delegate powers to enable Quorn Parish Council to declare its land at Tom Long’s Meadow as a Local Nature Reserve. Recommendations 1. That delegated authority be given to the Strategic Director of Neighbourhoods and Community Wellbeing to declare Stonebow Washlands, Gorse Covert, Booth Wood and Pignut Spinney Marsh as Local Nature Reserves. 2. That delegated authority be given to Quorn Parish Council to declare Tom Long’s Meadow as a Local Nature Reserve. Reasons 1&2. To meet the policy recommendations set out in the Open Spaces Strategy 2013-2028 for Natural & Semi-Natural Green Spaces, to declare new Local Nature Reserves where appropriate. Policy Justification and Previous Decisions Declaring these sties as Local Nature Reserves meets the policy recommendations set out in the Open Spaces Strategy 2013-2028 for Natural & Semi-Natural Green Spaces, with particular reference to the policy regarding protection of sites through statutory and non-statutory designation. This links with the Council’s strategic aim of our place to protect for future generations. Financial Implications There are no direct financial implications arising from this report and expenditure will be funded from existing budgets. Implementation Timetable including Future Decisions and Scrutiny The service business plan objective is to declare one Local Nature Reserve per year starting with Stonebow Washlands which will be declared in 2016. 1 Risk Management The risks associated with the decisions Cabinet is asked to make and proposed actions to mitigate those risks are set out in the table below. Risk Management Plans Risk Identified Likelihood Impact Actioned Perceived reputational risk to Recommended action to the Council for not taking the designate selected sites as Unlikely Minor opportunity to follow key LNRs policies as outlined by the Local Plan and Open Spaces Strategy. Key Decision: Yes Background Papers: Location plans of proposed LNRs Local Authorities (Arrangements for the Discharge of Functions) (England) Regulations: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/1019/contents/ma de How local nature reserves are declared: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/create-and-manage-local- nature-reserves Open Spaces Strategy 2013 – 2028 and Open Spaces Sport and Recreation Study: http://www.charnwood.gov.uk/pages/ppg17_open_space s_sport_and_recreation_study Officers to contact: Chris Traill Strategic Director of Neighbourhoods and Community Wellbeing 01509 634774 [email protected] James Lee Senior Green Spaces Officer 01509 634928 [email protected] 2 Part B Background 1. The Open Spaces Strategy for Charnwood (2013 – 2028) recognised a number of shortfalls and set a number of objectives to address these. Within the strategy was the objective of increasing the number of Local Nature Reserves (LNRs) within the Borough, in line with Natural England’s ‘desirable criteria’ of 2 hectares per 1000 people, which the Council has adopted as its target. 2. LNRs are places with wildlife or geological features which are of special interest locally. They offer people opportunities to learn about nature or simply to enjoy it. The designation of a LNR means that the local authority accepts commitment to manage the land as a nature reserve and to protect it from inappropriate uses or development. 3. Charnwood Borough Council has currently declared three sites as LNRs. They are: Morley Quarry in Shepshed, Bishops Meadow in Loughborough and Halstead Road Centenary Pasture in Mountsorrel. In addition, Watermead Country Park (north & south), managed by Leicestershire County Council is the only other LNR in Charnwood. 4. Section 21 of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 gives principal local authorities (County and District Councils) the power to secure the provision of Local Nature Reserves. In using these powers, local authorities must consult with Natural England. 5. The recommended procedure as outlined by Natural England to declare a LNR is broadly as follows: (i) informal consultation with Natural England local officer, (ii) set up management steering group and produce draft management plan, (iii) formal consultation with Natural England local officer, (iv) local authority declaration to Natural England with final details of Local Nature Reserve entered on the national database. This is the process that will be engaged each year for one of the proposed sites, until all sites are designated as Local Nature Reserves in 2019. 6. All of the proposed sites are presently designated as Local Wildlife Sites (also known as Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation). These are identified and selected for their local nature conservation value; however they are not protected by law. 7. The sites owned and managed by Charnwood Borough Council which are proposed as Local Nature Reserves are Stonebow Washlands, Booth Wood, Gorse Covert and Pignut Spinney Marsh, all within Loughborough. It is intended to declare one LNR per year over the next four years, beginning with Stonebow Washlands. 3 Stonebow Washlands 8. The proposed area for LNR designation is 7.4ha. Important habitats include: semi-natural grassland, standing water bodies, streams and wet woodland. There is a good range of grassland species including hairy sedge and marsh marigold, and a significant community of common frog and common toad. Booth Wood 9. The proposed area for LNR designation is 4.2ha. Approximately half of the wood is semi-natural, with a canopy of oak and birch. The remainder of the wood is mixed plantation dominated by larch, oak, Scot’s pine and ash. Ground flora includes some ancient woodland indicators, namely bluebell, dog’s mercury and wood anemone. Gorse Covert 10. The proposed area for LNR designation is 3.5ha. The site is a mature woodland dominated by oak, ash and sycamore. The wood has a number of large mature trees exhibiting good decay features which will benefit deadwood insects, birds and bats. Pignut Spinney Marsh 11. The proposed area for LNR designation is 2.4ha. Important habitats include: mixed and wet grassland, streams and scrub woodland. There is a good range of wet grassland species including brown sedge and great burnet. There is also evidence for bullhead in the stream which is a Red Data Book species. Local Community Implications 12. The benefits of having a range of accessible open spaces available for the community to use are many and varied, and an integral part of the designation process will involve public consultation to assess how these areas are used. These include: health and wellbeing, social cohesion, a sense of ‘heritage’, places to learn and a positive impact on the local economy. A study of the various benefits (Open Spaces, Sport & Recreation Study 2010) is contained within the appendices of the Open Spaces Strategy 2013 - 2028. It is interesting to note that ‘health & wellbeing’ and ‘social cohesion’ were the top outcomes across the survey. Equality Impact Assessments will completed on these sites. Strategic and Policy Implications 13. Declaration of these sites will lead to improvements that contribute significantly to the Borough priorities as outlined in various strategies: (i) Policy CS13 within the Charnwood Local Plan Core Strategy 2011 to 2028, adopted in November 2015 relates to biodiversity and geodiversity. There is a clear commitment to conserve and enhance the environment for its own value and the benefits to our community and economy. 4 (ii) The Charnwood Local Plan recognises the value of the UK and local Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP), and the Council’s commitment to prevent damage and habitat fragmentation. (iii) Policy 3 within the Open Spaces Strategy 2013 – 2028, sets out the vision for natural and semi-natural open spaces, with protection of the sites and enhancing the quality of life for residents as the key drivers. Protection is embodied within a key policy using statutory and non-statutory designations, with LNRs being specifically mentioned. Financial Implications 14. There are no financial implications from this report, as management of the proposed reserves will continue to be funded from existing budgets. Quorn Parish Council and Tom Long’s Meadow 15. Quorn Parish Council owns 2.7ha of wetland habitats, including wet woodland and marshland near the centre of Quorn, known as Tom Long’s Meadow. The Parish Council has been advised by Natural England that it would be appropriate to designate the site as a LNR. The Parish Council is currently working on a 21 year management agreement with the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust to manage the site on its behalf. 16. The power to secure the provision of land as a nature reserve under Section 21 of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 is given to all County and District Councils, but not to Parish Councils. This means that Quorn Parish Council can only declare the land as a nature reserve if the power to do so is delegated to it by the Executive (ie. the Cabinet) under the Local Authorities (Arrangements for the Discharge of Functions) (England) Regulations 2012. There will be no resulting liabilities on the Borough Council. 17. Cabinet has powers to delegate authority to the Parish Council enabling them to make the declaration. 18. Tom Long’s Meadow is presently designated as a Local Wildlife Site (also known as Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation). These are identified and selected for their local nature conservation value; however they are not protected by law. 19. Supporting the designation of Tom Long’s Meadow as a LNR will help to signal the parish’s commitment to nature conservation.