Kingston-Upon-Hull Open Space Assessment Sites of Nature Conservation Importance (SNCI) Main Report October 2008 ________________________________________________ HULL CITY COUNCIL & PMC CONSULT LTD KINGSTON UPON HULL OPEN SPACE ASSESSMENT – SITES OF NATURE CONSERVATION INTEREST (SNCI) ________________________________________________ Penny Anderson Associates Limited ‘Park Lea’ 60 Park Road Buxton Derbyshire SK17 6SN Project Manager Alistair Blackshaw BSc (Hons), MSc October 2008 This project has been undertaken in accordance with PAA policies and procedures on quality assurance. Signed:_________________________________ C O N T E N T S 1. INTRODUCTION 1.5 Legislative and Policy Context 2. METHODOLOGY 2.1 Phase I Habitat Survey Field visits 2.3 Data capture 2.4 Species Lists Field visits 2.9 Data capture 2.10 Quality Assessments 2.14 Limitations 3. RESULTS 4. RECOMMENDATIONS 4.1 SNCI Policy 4.4 Candidate Sites for Local nature Reserve Status 4.8 Management Issues 4.9 Open mosaic habitats on preliminary development land 4.16 Lowland meadows 4.21 Conservation management priority list 4.23 Monitoring 4.25 Invasive Species 4.29 Revision of the Hull Biodiversity Action Plan (HBAP) 4.30 Summary REFERENCES TABLES 1 Possible Criteria Scores Attributed to Sites during the Quality Assessments (in text, para 2.13) 2 List of SNCI not Surveyed during the Study (in text, para 3.2) 3 Frequency of UKBAP Habitats on SNCI in Hull (in text, para 3.4) 4 Taxonomic Groups Recorded during the Site Surveys (in text, para 3.5) 5 UKBAP Species Recorded during the Site Surveys (in text, para 3.6) 6 Sites in Hull where the UKBAP Habitat Open Mosaic Habitats on Previously Developed Land Occurs (in text, para 4.11) 7 Sites in Hull where the UKBAP Habitat Lowland Meadows Occur (in text, para 4.16) 8 Publicly Owned Sites that should be Prioritised for Conservation Management (in text, para 4.21) 9 Privately Owned Sites that would Benefit from Conservation Management (in text, para 4.22) 10 Hull Sites with Invasive Species (in text, para 4.26) Ref No. 080628 Hull City Council & PMP Consult Ltd October 2008 Kingston Upon Hull Open Space Assessment – Sites of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCI) 11 Recording of HBAP Species during the Study and Proposed Changes to HBAP List (in text, para 4.29) APPENDICES I Field Recording Sheet II Quality Assessment Methodology III Phase I Habitat Survey Maps IV Completed Site Quality Assessment Forms and Site Species Lists (Volumes 1 and 2) V Areas of Habitat Recorded VI Selected Plates Ref No. 080628 Hull City Council & PMP Consult Ltd October 2008 Kingston Upon Hull Open Space Assessment – Sites of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCI) 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Penny Anderson Associates Ltd (PAA) was commissioned by Hull City Council, in February 2008, to undertake an audit of Sites of Nature Conservation Importance (SNCI) within the city boundary. The audit of SNCI was undertaken as part of a study to satisfy the requirements of Planning Policy Guidance 17 (PPG17) managed by PMP Consult Ltd. 1.2 The brief for the SNCI element of the study was to conduct an audit of the extent and type of natural habitat present on each site. The recognised methodology for such a study is Phase 1 Habitat Survey (JNCC 2003), under which a thematic map is produced to show the variation in habitat types on a site. Phase 1 maps were produced during field visits to each site and the maps then digitised using ArcGIS. 1.3 In addition to the Phase 1 Habitat Surveys, a brief list of the species encountered on each site was compiled and the sites were assessed agains t the criteria listed by DEFRA (2006) which are based on those chosen by Ratcliffe in his Nature Conservation Review (1977). By extending the scope of the project in this way PAA sought to provide a valuable baseline dataset against which future change in these sites could be measured and upon which policy decisions regarding SNCI could be based. 1.4 This report outlines, in detail, the methodologies used at each stage of the SNCI study, presents the results of the field work and quality assessments and makes recommendations on how the data could be used to further the conservation of biodiversity in the city of Hull at both a site and a strategic planning scale. Legislative and Policy Context 1.5 The following is a brief summary of the legislative and policy context for Local Sites (non- statutory wildlife sites - in this instance SNCI). The Department of Environment Food and Affairs’ 2006 publication Local Sites – Guidance on their Identification, Selection and Management provides a more comprehensive overview. 1.6 Non-statutory wildlife sites have been designated, by local authorities working with other local partners, in most areas of the country. In 2000, a review group set up by the then Department of the Environment, Transport on the Regions (DETR) formally recognised the value of Local Sites for nature conservation. 1.7 Planning Policy Statement 9 (PPS9), a statement of national planning policy for biodiversity and geological conservation, recognises the role of Local Sites in fulfilling national biodiversity targets. It recommends that policies should be established within Local Development Frameworks (LDFs), against which development proposals affecting Local Sites should be judged. It also recommends that all Local Sites are included on the LDF proposals map. 1.8 Planning Policy Guidance Note 17 (PPG17) sets out the Government’s policies for the protection and creation of open spaces, sports and recreational facilities. It recognises that the function of open space varies and recommends that local authorities take account of biodiversity when establishing policy on open space. 1.9 The ‘Biodiversity Duty’, introduced by Natural Environment and Rural Communities (NERC) Act came into force on 1st October 2006. The act requires public authorities to “have regard to the conservation of biodiversity in exercising their functions” (DEFRA 2007). The Duty applies to all public authorities, including local authorities, recognises that “public authorities can make a Ref No. 080628 Hull City Council & PMP Consult Ltd October 2008 Kingston Upon Hull Open Space Assessment – Sites of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCI) significant contribution towards the 2010 target to halt biodiversity loss”. The key policy instruments for halting the loss of biodiversity are local and national Biodiversity Action Plans (BAPs). In this regard, the role of Local sites in meeting BAP targets has been widely recognised by central government. Ref No. 080628 Hull City Council & PMP Consult Ltd October 2008 Kingston Upon Hull Open Space Assessment – Sites of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCI) 2. METHODOLOGY Phase 1 Habitat Survey Field visits 2.1 The Phase 1 Habitat Surveys were conducted, following the methodology set out by JNCC (2003), during a single visit to each site over the period 28th April 2008 to 15th August 2008. 2.2 Briefly, the method used involved a structured walk around the site during which each distinct habitat type present was drawn onto a blank base map of the site and code using the JNCC standard codes. The dominant species in each habitat were coded and target notes were made when physical or biological features of note were encountered. Data capture 2.3 The habitat maps made in the field were digitised using ArcGIS 9.0 in conjunction with the Phase 1 mapping palette published by the JNCC (http://www.jncc.gov.uk/page-4258). Species Lists Field visits 2.4 In addition to the habitat data, lists of the vascular plant species encountered during each site visit were compiled using a bespoke recording sheet (Appendix I). Plants were attributed to the following broad habitat categories, taken from the Hull Biodiversity Action Plan (HBAP): • Estuary; • Freshwater; • Grassland; • Woodland • Scrub; and • Hedgerow. 2.5 A further category of ‘Other’ was added to enable the recording of habitats which were not listed in the HBAP (e.g. tall ruderal vegetation). 2.6 Though species recording concentrated upon vascular plants, birds were also recorded extensively, particularly in the early part of the season when they were detectable through their songs. The following species groups were recorded sporadically, as they were seen: • Invertebrates; • Reptiles; • Amphibians; and • Mammals; Ref No. 080628 Hull City Council & PMP Consult Ltd October 2008 Kingston Upon Hull Open Space Assessment – Sites of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCI) 2.7 The above animal groups, including to a certain extent birds, require specialist survey techniques that were outside the scope of the study. The general shortfall of data for these taxa should not, therefore, be regarded as evidence of absence from a particular site. Indeed, where potential for a particular group has been noted on a site’s quality assessment form it is highly likely that a significant number of species would be detected by a specialist survey. 2.8 The site visits were prioritised with reference to the file data supplied by Hull City Council. Where these data indicated that sites would be of a high quality, visits were delayed until later in the season so that the number of taxa recorded would be maximised. Data capture 2.9 The species data collected during the field surveys were digitised using the Recorder 6 software package. Recorder, developed by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, is a standards based tool for the collection and collation of biological recordings. All data collected during the study is held under a specific ‘Survey’ which can be disseminated to any other organisation running the software. Quality Assessments 2.10 The quality assessment sheets were designed to give a quick overview of the value of a site in the context of the biodiversity resource within the city boundary. The assessment has been adapted from a set of criteria which appeared in the Natural Environment chapter of the Hull CityPlan (adopted May 2000).