2014/19 Strategic Action Plan LCSP Project Officer: Ruth Craig LCSP Monitoring Officer: William Bartle Version: 0 October 2015 Contents 1.0 The Project ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 2 1.1 The Partnership .................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 2 1.2 Lincolnshire’s Chalk Streams ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 6 1.3 Voluntary and Community Engagement .................................................................................................................................................................. 6 1.4 Education .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 7 1.5 The European Water Framework Directive ............................................................................................................................................................. 7 1.6 Catchment-Based Approach .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 8 1.7 Actions ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 8 2.0 Strategic Action Plan .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 10 2.1 Additional Plans ................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 19 2.3 Monitoring and evaluation ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 19 3.0 Grant Funded Projects ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 20 Appendicies .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 22 Appendix 1: This is a diagram to illustrate the set-up of the LWCS partnership network. ....................................................................... 22 Appendix 2: Role of the Joint Advisory Committee, Lincolnshire Wolds Countryside Service and sub-groups ................................ 23 Appendix 3: Members of the Joint Advisory Committee ......................................................................................................................................... 25 Appendix 4: LCSP links with Steering group and wider initiatives ...................................................................................................................... 26 Appendix 5: Table to show policies, objectives and actions from the LCSP partner organisations. ...................................................... 28 Appendix 6: List of Commissioned project specific surveys for the LCSP ........................................................................................................ 36 1 Lincolnshire Chalk Streams Project 1.0 The Project Chalk Streams are internationally rare habitats which support some of the most threatened plants and animals. The Lincolnshire Chalk Streams Project (LCSP) is a group of organisations that have worked together since 2003 to preserve and enhance this important habitat. The partnership aims to: Make sustainable improvements to chalk streams in Lincolnshire focussed around the Lincolnshire Wolds. Raise awareness of chalk streams and their importance. Improve our knowledge of Lincolnshire's chalk stream habitats. Restore and improve Lincolnshire's chalk streams for the benefit of wildlife and the community. 1.1 The Partnership The Lincolnshire Chalk Streams Project (LCSP) came about as an idea from the Environment Agency (EA) back in 2003. Several organisations were brought on board: Lincolnshire Wolds Countryside Service (LWCS) (host), Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) (host via LWCS), Natural England (NE), Anglian Water Services (AWS), Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust (LWT) and the Wild Trout Trust (WTT) (Figure 1).The intention was to form a project that would deliver necessary actions to restore Lincolnshire’s chalk stream Biodiversity Action Plan ‘priority habitat’. An investigation was carried out, funded by the EA, to identify the chalk streams in Lincolnshire and to group them into categories of chalk stream for example, ‘classic chalk stream’ and ‘mixed geology chalk stream’ (Figure 3). In 2004/05 a restoration project was carried out on the Waithe beck in Stainton le Vale which acted as a demonstration site for the partner organisations, farmers, landowners and communities. An event was held whereby interest was sought from these individuals as to whether they would support a Lincolnshire Chalk Streams Project in helping to restore such a rare and unique habitat. The event and restoration work was successful and in 2006 funding became available to employ a project officer on a two year contract. It was agreed the LCSP project would be hosted by the LWCS due to the location of the chalk springs and streams mostly rising from within the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The LWCS is currently hosted by LCC and therefore the LCSP project benefits from these hosting arrangements both financially and via connections to wider organisations and initiatives. The role of the Joint Advisory Committee and the Lincolnshire Wolds Countryside Service sub groups is explained in more detail in appendix 1. Members of the JAC can be found in appendix 2. The project officer was successful in a grant application to Natural England's Countdown 2010 to match fund a grant from the SITA trust. This enabled the project to deliver on-the-ground works for a two year period whilst continuing to employ a project officer. During this time approximately 8km of chalk stream habitat had been restored and over 41km of land was under improved management. The partners have continued to contribute funding to encourage the continuation of delivering habitat improvements to Lincolnshire's Chalk Streams. 2 In 2013 Defra and the Environment Agency rolled out the Catchment-Based Approach (CaBA), the LCSP were fortunate to be awarded the title of catchment host for the Northern becks (see figure 2). Figure 1: Diagram to show structure of partnership support for the LCSP. See appendix 4 for further details. 3 Figure 2: Catchment-Based Approach host organisations in Lincolnshire 4 Figure 3: Location of Lincolnshire's Chalk Streams 5 1.2 Lincolnshire’s Chalk Streams Lincolnshire has a number of chalk streams; including around 18 main-stem rivers such as the Great Eau, River Bain and the River Rase, with perhaps twice as many again small tributaries such as Laceby Beck, all of which rise in the Wolds. Some are located predominantly on chalk strata – ‘pure’ chalk streams, such as Waithe Beck – but most are ‘mixed geology’, rising from chalk springs, but running over other types of geology, such as sandstone: for example the River Lymn falls into this category (figure 3). Unfortunately Lincolnshire’s fragile chalk stream habitat has been seriously degraded over the last century, in particular in the last 50 years, largely due to agricultural intensification. The current threats to chalk streams in Lincolnshire are from: Abstraction for drinking water supply, industry, fish and irrigation, which results in low flows, reduced dilution of pollutants, sedimentation, excess algal growth, loss of current-loving species and entrapment of wild fish. Effluent discharge from sewage works, industry, fish, resulting in introduction of endocrine disruptors; increased temperatures; organic, nutrient and toxic pollution; loss of species; excess algal growth and reduced population size. Agriculture. Livestock farming causes bank damage and polluted runoff (organic matter, nutrients, sediment), whilst arable farming sees increased drainage and polluted runoff (nutrients, herbicides, endocrine disruptors, sediment). This results in damage to aquatic and wetland habitats and sensitive species, reduced water quality, accelerated runoff and reduced groundwater discharge. Flood defence, land drainage and inappropriate level control involving channel and bank engineering, weed cutting, dredging, hatch operation result in damage to aquatic and riparian species and habitats. Development in the catchments causing construction waste and polluted runoff (e.g. oils, sediment, heavy metals) meaning