Ouse and Humber Strategic Sub- catchment Area Biodiversity Action Plan Final January 2010 Market Weighton Drainage Board Burnby Hall Pocklington York YO42 2QF Lower Ouse Internal Drainage Board 91 Bridgegate Howden Goole East Yorkshire DN14 7JJ JBA Office JBA Consulting Denison House Hexthorpe Road Doncaster South Yorkshire DN4 0BF JBA Project Manager Laura Hicks Revision History Revision Ref / Date Issued Amendments Issued to Draft Audit / September Market Weighton Drainage Board 2009 Lower Ouse Internal Drainage Board Draft BAP / December Market Weighton Drainage Board 2009 Lower Ouse Internal Drainage Board Final BAP / January Amendments in line Market Weighton Drainage Board 2010 with comments on Lower Ouse Internal Drainage Board draft BAP Contract This report describes work commissioned by the Market Weighton Drainage Board and the Lower Ouse Internal Drainage Board, by a letter dated 22 June 2009. Market Weighton Drainage Board's representative for the contract was Mr P. Clark and the representative for the Lower Ouse Internal Drainage Board was Mr E. W. Allen. Laura Hicks, Richard Barnard, Jon Whitmore and Kieran Sheehan of JBA Consulting carried out this work. Prepared by ................................................... Richard Barnard BSc MSc Assistant Ecologist Reviewed by .................................................. Laura Hicks BA MRes MIEEM Senior Ecologist Purpose This document has been prepared as a draft report for the Market Weighton Drainage Board and the Lower Ouse Internal Drainage Board. JBA Consulting accepts no responsibility or liability for any use that is made of this document other than by the Client for the purposes for which it was originally commissioned and prepared. Acknowledgments The Market Weighton Drainage Board and the Lower Ouse Internal Drainage Board would like to acknowledge Mark Wills of the North and East Yorkshire Ecological Data Centre in York for supplying much of the habitat and species data on which the distribution maps in this report are based. Copyright © Jeremy Benn Associates Limited 2010 Carbon Footprint First publication of this document resulted in a carbon footprint of 325g. 325g Further printed copies of this document will result in a carbon footprint of 256g if 100% post-consumer recycled paper is used and 325g if primary-source paper is used. These figures assume the report is printed in black and white and in duplex. JBA is a carbon neutral company and the carbon emissions from our activities are offset. 2009s0304 Ouse and Humber Strategic Sub-catchment Area BAP - Final Biodiversity Action Plans This Biodiversity Action Plan has been prepared by the Market Weighton Drainage Board and the Lower Ouse Internal Drainage Board, which form the Ouse and Humber Strategic Sub-catchment Area, in accordance with the commitment in the Implementation Plan of the DEFRA Internal Drainage Board Review for IDBs to produce their own Biodiversity Action Plans by April, 2010. It also demonstrates the commitment of the Boards to fulfilling their duties as public bodies under the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 to conserve biodiversity. Many of the activities of the Boards have benefits for biodiversity, not least its water level management and ditch maintenance work. It is hoped that this Biodiversity Action Plan will help the two Boards to maximise the biodiversity benefits from its activities and demonstrate its contribution to the Government’s UK Biodiversity Action Plan targets. The two Boards have adopted the Biodiversity Action Plan as one of its policies and are committed to its implementation. They will review the plan periodically and update it as appropriate. ……………………………………………………. Date ………………………………. Mr J Atkinson Chairman of Market Weighton Drainage Board ……………………………………………………. Date ………………………………. Mr R Screeton Chairman of Lower Ouse Internal Drainage Board This Biodiversity Action Plan is a public statement by the two Boards of their biodiversity objectives and the methods by which they intend to achieve them. We would welcome appropriate involvement in the delivery of the Plan from interested organisations, companies, and individuals. You can contact us about this Biodiversity Action Plan using the following contact details: Market Weighton Drainage Board Lower Ouse Internal Drainage Board Burnby Hall 91 Bridgegate Pocklington Howden York Goole YO42 2QF East Yorkshire DN14 7JJ [email protected] [email protected] http://www.marketweighton-idb.org/default.aspx http://www.loidb.co.uk/ 2009s0304 Ouse and Humber Strategic Sub-catchment Area BAP - Final Contents 1. IDB Biodiversity - An Introduction ..................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 1 1.2 What is Biodiversity? ............................................................................................. 2 1.3 The Importance of Conserving Biodiversity ........................................................... 2 1.4 The Biodiversity Action Planning Framework ........................................................ 2 1.5 Internal Drainage Boards and Biodiversity ............................................................ 3 1.6 The Aims of the Strategic Sub-catchment Area Biodiversity Action Plan ............. 3 2. The IDB BAP Process .......................................................................................... 4 2.1 The Biodiversity Audit ............................................................................................ 4 2.2 Evaluating and Prioritising Habitats and Species .................................................. 4 2.3 Setting Objectives, Targets and Indicators ............................................................ 4 2.4 Implementation ...................................................................................................... 4 2.5 Monitoring .............................................................................................................. 4 2.6 Reporting and Reviewing Progress ....................................................................... 5 3. The Biodiversity Audit ......................................................................................... 6 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 6 3.2 Local Biodiversity Action Plans .............................................................................. 6 3.3 IDB Biodiversity Audit Boundary ............................................................................ 6 3.4 Sources of Data - Habitats..................................................................................... 6 3.5 Sources of Data - Species ..................................................................................... 6 4. Nature Conservation Sites .................................................................................. 7 4.1 The Drainage District ............................................................................................. 7 4.2 Geology.................................................................................................................. 7 4.3 Landscape ............................................................................................................. 7 4.4 Statutory Nature Conservation Sites ..................................................................... 8 5. Habitat Audit ........................................................................................................ 14 5.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 14 5.2 Habitat Audit Summary .......................................................................................... 14 5.3 Habitats of Importance for the Strategic Sub-catchment Area .............................. 15 6. Species Audit ....................................................................................................... 21 6.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 21 6.2 Species Audit Summary ........................................................................................ 21 6.3 Species of Importance for the Strategic Sub-catchment Area .............................. 23 7. Habitat and Species Action Plans ...................................................................... 28 7.1 Habitat and Species Action Plans ......................................................................... 28 7.2 Action Plans for the Ouse and Humber Strategic Sub-catchment Area ................ 28 8. Habitat Action Plan - Drains and Ditches .......................................................... 29 8.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 29 8.2 National Status ...................................................................................................... 29 8.3 Local Status ........................................................................................................... 29 8.4 Status within the Strategic Sub-catchment Area ................................................... 29 8.5 Threats ................................................................................................................... 30 8.6 Objectives and Targets .........................................................................................