Mendip Hills AONB Partnership Meeting March 2020 This was the presentation to be delivered to the Mendip Hills AONB Partnership on March 19th 2020. Additional text has been inserted to explain items further. The Mendip Hills AONB Nature Recovery Plan Paper C Tim Haselden Project Development Officer Mendip Hills AONB Unit Nature Recovery Plan Background: • The Glover Review of Designated Landscapes (2019) recommended that designated landscapes should have a revised purpose, focussing more on nature’s recovery: ‘Recover, conserve and enhance natural beauty, biodiversity and natural capital, and cultural heritage.’ • All AONBs signed up to ‘The Colchester Declaration’. Sets out AONB’s national strategy for change in order to redress declines in species and habitats within context of a wider response to Climate Change. • The Colchester Declaration states that all AONB Partnerships should produce and implement a ‘Nature Recovery Plan’ during 2020/21. Plans should contribute to national targets which state that by 2030: • at least 200,000ha of SSSIs in AONBs will be in favourable condition; • at least 100,000ha of wildlife-rich habitat outside of protected sites will have been created/restored; • at least 36,000ha of new woodland will have been planted or allowed to regenerate in AONBs following the principle of 'the right tree in the right place’. • Plans to be developed in partnership and look both within and outside of the AONB boundary, and should feed into Local Nature Recovery Strategies. Nature Recovery Plan The hierarchy of nature recovery planning: Nature Recovery Plan What we need to do: • Create an ambitious yet achievable and useable plan. • Show the right places to create and restore the right habitat that will make a real and positive contribution to nature’s recovery in the Mendip Hills and nationally. • Utilise datasets. This includes nature recovery network, ecological connectivity mapping, species and priority habitat data / the South West Nature Map, plus recent initiatives such as B-Lines mapping. • Enhance the AONB’s special qualities and local landscape character areas. • Support the enthusiasm and drive to plant trees, but guide this so the right trees are planted in the right places. © West of England Nature Partnership Nature Recovery Plan What the Plan should include: • Spatial mapping of the AONB showing priority areas for habitat creation, restoration and connectivity. • AONB split into areas, with a clear vision and set of prescriptions for how to best recover nature in these areas. This might cover: the plateau, the northern wooded slopes, the southern wildflower-rich grasslands, the farmed landscapes of the Wrington Vale, Chew/Yeo Valley. • SMART objectives (short, medium, long term), measurables, shared values and pledges that all AONB partners sign up to, linked to nature recovery and reducing our carbon footprint. These should contribute to The Colchester Declaration targets. For example: current tree cover in our AONB is 12% of total land area (c.2,376ha of 19,800ha). In order for us to help deliver the national target of 36,000ha new woodland across all AONBs, as a proportion of the total, we should therefore aim to create 288ha of new woodland, increasing overall tree cover in the Mendips to 13.5% by 2030. • The Plan should also incorporate a Species Action Plan and an Enhancing Communities Engagement Plan, and be designed to fit in with the statutory AONB Management Plan. It should also set out a clear timetable and action plan, involving all organisations on the AONB Partnership and wider stakeholders. Nature Recovery Plan Nature Recovery Plan Nature Recovery Plan Our ‘Top 6’ priority threatened (S41) species: • Adder (heathlands, grasslands) • Black Oil Beetle (bare ground in grasslands, heathlands, woodland edges) • Greater Horseshoe Bat (caves, barns, hedgerows, grasslands) • Hazel Dormouse (woodlands, hedgerows, scrub) • Skylark (farmland, grasslands) • Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary butterfly (grasslands and heathlands with scrub, woodland glades) Nature Recovery Plan How you/your organisation can help: • Let us know what you’re already doing or planning to do. • Are you willing to join a Task & Finish group / working group to help oversee the creation of the Plan? • Can you provide any specific support? Are there missing datasets? Can you help supply these? • Can you provide any funds to help deliver some of the Plan’s objectives or would you like to work in partnership to seek joint funding for collaborative initiatives? • How can we best pull your organisation’s targets into the Plan? And how do we best monitor, evaluate and report on all of these collective achievements? AONB Unit Update for 2019-2020 Highlights since November Successful Somerset Nature Connections bid Successfully secured £290K from the National Lottery Community Fund. 3-year project with Somerset Wildlife Trust (lead) and Quantock Hills AONB and Blackdown Hills AONB to use nature and the landscape as a tool to support people’s wellbeing, working with groups at high risk of poor mental health. Match funding brings total to £500K. Highlights since November Landscape “[As a result] We will discuss changing our validation procedure to ensure that Visual Impact the submitted LVIA/appraisal documents Assessment provide accurate information prior to (LVIA) Training registration.” Janette Burton (Sedgemoor DC) 30 planning officers attended from a variety of authorities, AONB Units and Exmoor National Park to understand best practice in LVIAs. Highlights since November Re-launch of the Somerset Local Nature Partnership (LNP) The LNP is the Natural Environment workstream for Somerset County Council’s Climate & Ecological Emergency Strategy. The 3 Somerset AONBs & Exmoor National Park are sharing a position on the Board. Staff Change Goodbye Cindy. Hello Judith. Cindy Carter, Landscape Planning Officer, departs in March 2020. Welcome to the team Judith Chubb-Whittle who volunteered with the AONB Unit before becoming planner for CPRE Somerset. Judith starts in April. Project Delivery Plan Highlights Tim Haselden Project Development Officer Mendip Hills AONB Unit Nature & Wellbeing Delivery Plan Reference: 8.2 What’s been achieved: • Delivered sessions with external providers and care groups, including Osprey Outdoors, Discovery, Heads Up and Young Carers, with participants learning new skills and spending time in the natural environment in order to support their mental health. • Supporting volunteers to go into local care homes to provide reminiscence and engaging AONB-related activities for residents. • Developed a £500K 3-year project with Somerset Wildlife Trust (lead) and Quantock Hills AONB and Blackdown Hills AONB to use nature and the landscape as a tool to support people’s wellbeing, working with groups at high risk of poor mental health. Successfully secured £290K from the National Lottery Community Fund, £15K from Public Health and £40K from SCC Improving Lives fund. Awaiting decision on £50K of match from Discovery Community Fund in order to work with adults with learning disabilities and/or autism as part of the project. The project is planned to start in late 2020. How this fits with the bigger picture: AONB Management Plan Objectives Participation; Landscape quality; Natural resources AONB Special Qualities Tranquillity; Views; Landscape enjoyed by people Ecosystem Services Health & wellbeing; Sense of place Defra 25 Year Env. Plan Goals Enhancing beauty, heritage & engagement with nature Catchment-Based Approach Delivery Plan Reference: 2.2, 5.2 What’s been achieved: • Provided £2K to Bristol Avon Rivers Trust to undertake walkover surveys in Spring 2019 in Chew Catchment where two waterbodies are failing under the Water Framework Directive: North Widcombe and Compton Martin to Chewton Mendip (source). • 90 sites were visited upstream of Chew Valley Lake (drinking water reservoir): 13 recorded as Grade 1 (high risk), 39 as Grade 2 pollution. • A further £2K from the AONB Unit opened up £3K of match funding from Bristol Water, enabling BART to engage with farmers and draw up recommendations for three priority locations which would reduce pollution and improve water quality for people and wildlife. • Working in partnership to secure funding to deliver the identified improvements. We also hope to widen scope onto the Congresbury Yeo Catchment, where improved land management upstream on the Mendip Hills could help to reduce flood risk and water quality issues. How this fits with the bigger picture: AONB Management Plan Objectives Landscape quality; Biodiversity & geodiversity; Natural resources; Land management AONB Special Qualities Chew Valley & Blagdon lakes; The Chew & Yeo Valley; Limestone aquifer Ecosystem Services Biodiversity; Water quality, quantity & flow; Climate regulation & soil health Defra 25 Year Env. Plan Goals Clean water; Sustainability; Climate change; Biosecurity; Reducing risk from hazards Land Management Delivery Plan Reference: 2.2, 6.3 What’s been achieved: • Practical conservation work delivered by the AONB Unit, Wildlife Trusts, National Trust and other partners has helped restore and enhance SSSIs and priority habitats including grassland, heathland, woodland and dew ponds across the AONB. • The AONB Unit has taken over the management of two important reserves: Blackmoor SSSI and Deer Leap. Management Plans have been produced. Applications to Natural England and Historic England have been submitted to carry out site improvements. • The Facilitation Fund (hosted by Somerset Wildlife