MICKLEOVER MEADOWS MANAGEMENT PLAN 2010 - 2015 November 2009 JAMES FRITH MIEEM Ecological Consultancy 1 Ravensnest Cottages Ashover Chesterfield Derbyshire S45 0JP E-mail: [email protected] Tel: (01246) 591028 CONTENTS 1. Description of the Site 1 1.1 Location 1 1.2 Land tenure 1 1.3 Designations 1 1.4 Past land use 1 1.5 Public access and community use 1 1.6 Compartments and habitats 2 2. Evaluation of the Features 5 3. Description of Optimal State for the Site 5 4. Outline Management Objectives 6 5. Management Prescriptions 7 5.1 Habitat Management 7 5.1.1 Hay meadow grassland. Compartments Ai, B, Di & 7 Ei. 8 5.1.2 Tall grassland. Compartments C, F & G. 8 5.1.3 Short amenity grassland. Compartment Aii, Dii & 8 Eii. 9 5.1.4 Hedges. 10 5.1.5 Woodland. Compartment H. 10 5.1.6 Pond P1 School Pond. 10 5.1.7 Pond P2 Bridge Pond. 5.1.8 Pond P3 New Pond. 10 5.2 Educational and Community Use 10 10 5.2.1 Schools Use 11 5.2.2 Community use 5.2.3 Access provisions 11 5.3 Further Survey and Monitoring Plan A Compartments and Habitats Plan B Optimal State and Management 5-Year Work Programme Estimatiion of Management Costs Annex 1 Vegetation Survey Mickleover Meadows. Management Plan 2010-2115. November 2009 1 Description of the site 1.1 Location & boundaries The site lies to the west of Derby on the northern fringe of Mickleover, adjacent to Murray Park School. The school grounds form the eastern boundary of the site, with housing to the south and open farmland to the north and west. 1.2 Land tenure The entire 9.6 hectare site is owned by Derby City Council. 1.3 Designations The site forms part of a designated Local Wildlife Site. The full site DE076 Mickleover School Meadow (20.35 ha) includes additional fields to the west and is designated for unimproved neutral grassland and reptile/amphibian assemblages. 1.4 Past land use The pattern of enclosed fields and hedges that forms the majority of the site originated from farmland that was gradually developed to the south as the village of Mickleover expanded. The agricultural legacy is evident in the ridge and furrow formations present in a number of the fields. The small area of scrub in the north has derived from land that was infilled when the railway line was reclaimed in the 1960s. Active farming ceased in the late 1908s when the land was taken over by the City Council. Since this time it has been managed as an area of public open space, this principally involving regular mowing of the grassland. Conservation management has included sowing wildflower seed, plug planting of wildflowers and tree and shrub planting as well as maintenance of the ponds. Recently a new pond has been created in one of the western fields to supplement the two existing ones that lie along the central ditch crossing the site. 1.5 Public access and community use All of the site is open to access by the general public, although historically the pattern of use has not extended to the small triangular field in the north-west. To encourage public use a system of surfaced paths has been installed from the two main access points from Onslow Road in the west and Earlswood Drive in the south. These link across farmland to the north of the site to Mackworth College. In part of the northern field a BMX track has been maintained as an additional attraction to the younger element. The site currently receives a good level of informal use from family groups, cyclists and regular dog walkers. There are a number of established desire lines that cross some of the fields in addition to the formal paths. The site is supported by a community group, the Friends of Mickleover Meadows, who organise events, management activities and carry out wildlife recording at the site. James Frith MIEEM Ecological Consultant 1 Mickleover Meadows. Management Plan 2010-2115. November 2009 1.6 Compartments and Habitats Although relatively small in area Mickleover Meadows hold a wide range of closely inter-related habitats. There are large areas of open grassland ranging in character form short mown turf to tall grassy meadows. Large hedges divide the site and there also areas of woodland on the margins. There are several ponds linked by open ditches of varying size. For the purposes of the plan the site has been divided into compartments based on the existing habitats, as shown in Plan A. These are described in briefly below. A full vegetation description is included in Annex 1. Compartment A. The southern half of this area (Ai) is managed as a hay meadow, the grass allowed to grow tall through the summer months. The sward has a mixture of fine grasses including sweet vernal-grass, crested dog’s-tail, red fescue and common bent. Damper areas have taller meadow grasses such as meadow foxtail and tufted hair-grass. There is a good range of wildflowers, some originating as plug planting, including common bird’s-foot-trefoil, meadow vetchling, common knapweed, yellow-rattle, clovers and vetches. Some wetter patches have frequent soft rush, hairy sedge, silverweed and creeping buttercup. The northern half of the area (Aii) is mown regularly through the summer, the grass never more than 10 cm high. This area has a similar range of grasses but generally a more modest component of wildflowers, although clovers, daisy and buttercups can be frequent. Compartment B. This area is also managed as a meadow, the grass not being cut until late in the summer when it is tall. Again fine grasses are frequent with common bent, sweet vernal-grass, red fescue and Yorkshire-fog making up the bulk of the sward. Frequent wildflowers occur, again with some originating from plug planting. Cowslips are frequent and later in the year common knapweed, common bird’s-foot-trefoil, great burnet and meadow crane’s-bill supplement more common species such as clovers, buttercups and common sorrel. Along the margin of the path is a band of coarser tall herb and grass with locally abundant false oat-grass, cock’s-foot, tufted hair-grass, great willowherb and occasional hogweed and silverweed. Compartment C. The strip of land between the path and the hedge was cultivated and planted with a wildflower seed mixture in 2002. Establishment has been good in the northern half where there is a tall sward containing frequent wildflowers including common knapweed, lady’s bedstraw, common bird’s-foot-trefoil, yarrow, tufted vetch, ribwort plantain and ribbed melilot. The southern end has become dominated by tall grasses, thistles and nettles and there is now some bramble and occasional tree saplings developing. On the western side of the path is a similar area of tall grass and bramble bounded by a strip of tree/shrub planting separating it from the BMX track. James Frith MIEEM Ecological Consultant 2 Mickleover Meadows. Management Plan 2010-2115. November 2009 Compartment D. A large field showing evidence of ridge and furrow in the western half (Di), the eastern half (Dii) having been partly developed as the BMX track. The grassland is all mown short through the summer but the vegetation shows its origins as a wildflower meadow with locally frequent common knapweed, common bird’s-foot- trefoil, selfheal, common mouse-ear, ribwort plantain, red clover and meadow buttercup. The grasses are a nice mix of fine-leaved species typical of old permanent grassland including sweet vernal-grass, common bent, crested dog’s-tail and red fescue. Compartment E. This large field is very similar to compartment Di, with ridge and furrow throughout and a vegetation obviously derived from former wildflower meadow. The species composition is very similar to compartment D, with the most diverse sward found in the northern part of the field. Compartment F. This field has been unmanaged since the time the site was taken over by the City Council. It has developed into tall, tussocky grassland with locally abundant common couch, false oat-grass, cock’s- foot and Yorkshire-fog with only a minor component of finer grasses. Wildflowers are fairly limited, mainly taller species such as creeping thistle, meadow buttercup, common knapweed and hogweed. It makes a rich habitat for grassland invertebrates especially butterflies. Compartment G. A narrow strip of land between the disused railway line and the school grounds, with a surfaced path along it. The path margins are mown but along the northern side are brambles extend from the hedge into a stand of tall herbs and grasses including false oat-grass, cock’s-foot, common nettle, creeping thistle, cow parsley and upright hedge-parsley. At the western end some planted common bird’s-foot-trefoil, red clover and ribbed melilot make a colourful show. Compartment H. This is a small stand of woodland that originated from trees planted along the old ditch and hedge line that forms the southern boundary of the site. The trees are now almost mature and form a dense plantation. They are a mixture of broadleaves including oak, field maple, birch, whitebeam and lime plus a few Scot’s pine. There are also a range of shrubs including dogwood, guelder rose and elder. The trees produce a dense shade that limits the flora beneath and there are areas of bare ground. However, a number of woodland plants occur including ivy, red campion, wood avens and cow parsley. Towards the eastern end the trees are more sparsely planted and consist of hybrid poplar over a field layer of tall grasses.