The Strawberry Line DRAFT MANAGEMENT PLAN 2011-2015 0 CONTENTS Page Page 1.0 INTRODUCTION 4.0 ANALYSIS OF ISSUES 1.1 Purpose of plan 1 4.1 Site Analysis 35-36 4.2 Qualitative Assessment 36-39 2.0 POLICY CONTEXT 2-3 5.0 VISION, AIMS, OBJECTIVES & ACTION PLAN 5.1 Vision 39 3.0 SITE DECSRIPTION 5.2 Aims 39-40 3.1 Location and access 3 5.3 1 and 5 year priorities 40-41 3.2 Relationship to green infrastructure 4 5.4 5 year action plan 42-56 3.3 Ownership and Designations 4-5 6.0 FINANCE 3.4 History 7-8 6.1 Existing expenditure 57 3.5 Overview of the park today 8-9 6.2 Aspirations 57 3.6 Mapping the park 9-21 7.0 MONITORING & REVIEW 58 3.7 Description of Key Features 22-33 3.8 Detailed site statistics 34 APPENDICES 3.9 Existing management arrangements 35 Appendix 1: Partnership groups and their relationship to 59-60 the Strawberry Line Appendix 2: Verge cutting prescriptions map 61 Appendix 3: Freehold and permissive routes map 62-63 Appendix 4: Woodborough Green map 64 Appendix 5: Gang Wall map 65 Appendix 6: Flora and fauna in the Winscombe area map 66 Appendix 7: Proposed milestone markers map 67 Appendix 8: CVRWS Byelaws 68-74 Appendix 9: Halcrow report of SSSI (2007) Appendix 10: Access Controls to the Strawberry Line Appendix 11: Shute Shelf Tunnel Principal Inspection 0 The Strawberry Line Draft Management Plan March 2011 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Purpose of the plan The need for site management plans has been identified as a key issue in the recent Green Infrastructure Strategy for the District1. This is the second management plan that has been written for The Strawberry Line. It covers the period 2011 – 2015. This plan has been prepared in order to provide a framework within which all future management is carried out; and enable any person involved to understand how and why decisions are taken. It identifies specific objectives and priorities for management within the next five years, and sets out aspirations that may be delivered in the future. For the detailed action plan, see pages 42- 56. Following the consultation a final management plan will then be prepared which will determine the future management of The Strawberry Line from 2011 – 2015. The structure of the plan has been developed using existing good practice including CABE Space’s ‘Guide to producing Green Space Management Plans’2, and guidance within Green Flag3. The draft plan has been prepared specifically as a consultation document so that partners, local residents and park users are engaged with the site’s ongoing management. 1 North Somerset Council’s Green Infrastructure strategy can be found at www.n-somerset.gov.uk 2 CABE Space promotes well-designed parks, streets and squares as a crucial part of our towns and cities. Its publications can be found at www.cabe.org.uk/default.aspx?contentitemid=484 3 The Green Flag is the national standard for parks in England and Wales. More information can be found at www.greenflagaward.org.uk 1 The Strawberry Line Draft Management Plan March 2011 2.0 POLICY CONTEXT The Council’s Green Infrastructure Strategy is the primary document describing the need for management plans to deliver the objectives for land under its management. It defines green infrastructure as: “… the network of parks, open spaces, waterways, woodlands, trees, countryside, green corridors and the coastal strip within and between our towns and villages, across the whole of North Somerset.” The following relates to the key headline areas described in the Sustainable Community Strategy4 and the North Somerset Council Corporate Plan5. North Somerset Council’s corporate plan draws from the community strategy and highlights key aims for the council. The Green Infrastructure contributes to a number of these priorities, including: • Enhancing health and well-being • Protecting and improving the environment • Building safer and stronger communities The council has also identified nine key areas where it plans to focus its efforts until 2011 and several of these priorities relate specifically to the role of Green Infrastructure: • Address environmental concerns. • Make our streets and communities safer. • Ensure development is well planned, with a focus on creating quality facilities and employment opportunities. • Improve customer services. North Somerset Council has a Play Strategy6 that identifies a number of important priorities for play in North Somerset. One of the key priorities is to 'develop and improve more neighbourhood play opportunities in the parks and open spaces epically for the 10 -16 4 www.northsomersetpartnership.co.uk 5 http://www.n-somerset.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/8E8E9677-D982-4DA9-8468- 1AC17DB765E0/0/publication_20080820_CorporatePlan20082011.pdf 2 The Strawberry Line Draft Management Plan March 2011 year olds that are accessible, sustainable and to promote the use of the natural open spaces.' As stated in the Design for Play guidance. In 2006, the Natural Environment and Rural Communities (NERC) Act was introduced for all public bodies to conserve and enhance biodiversity 7 under this duty. To meet this obligation, the local authority needs to ensure that appropriate management for biodiversity is undertaken on its landholdings. Green infrastructure management plans provide a practical mechanism for meeting this obligation, as they include aspirations and actions for biodiversity. Management of open spaces that contain locally important habitats and species can also contribute directly to aims of the North Somerset Local Biodiversity Action Plan (LBAP) – Action for Nature.8 Management plans present opportunities to implement some of the actions within the LBAP, so that priority habitats and species are taken into account in the management of green spaces. 3.0 SITE DESCRIPTION 3.1 Location and access (Map 1) The Strawberry Line Heritage Trail follows the dismantled Cheddar Valley Railway Line from Yatton Railway Station (ST4265), to the West of Yatton and Congresbury, running South to Sandford. The trail continues South through Sandford and Winscombe (ST4157) to Shute Shelve Tunnel at the A38. The Strawberry Line continues beyond the A38 into Cheddar (Somerset), where it is owned and managed by the Cheddar Valley Railway Walk Society (CVRWS). The 8 mile long line is physically broken in a number of places by the A370, A368 and minor roads. The Strawberry Line provides permissive access for walkers, cyclists and wheelchair users, with access points in the villages of Yatton, Congresbury, Sandford and Winscombe. Parking is available in the villages of Yatton, Congresbury and Winscombe. Horse riding is permitted on a trial basis on a one mile section between Congresbury and Sandford. 3.2 Relationship to other green infrastructure 6 See http://www.n-somerset.gov.uk/Education/Childcare+learning+and+play/leafletsandpublications/play.htm for a link to North Somerset Play Strategy 7 Biodiversity, or biological diversity, refers to the number of species of plants and animals in a given habitat. 8 See https://www.n-somerset.gov.uk/Environment/Conservation/Wildlife/ for link to Action for Nature 3 The Strawberry Line Draft Management Plan March 2011 The Strawberry Line is an important green corridor in North Somerset, providing connections between towns and the surrounding countryside. The line falls within the Somerset Levels and Moors landscape which is recognised as being nationally important for its ecolog ical and historical interest. From Sandford to the A38 the line runs through the Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The line provides important habitats for a variety of locally and nationally important flora and fauna, and is designated as a Local Nature Reserve (LNR) and Local Wildlife Site (LWS) for the majority of its length. There is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) between Yatton and the A370 at Congresbury which includes a number of UK BAP Priority Habitats e.g. Reedbed and coastal floodplain and grazing marsh. Further south, the line adjoins Puxton Moor SSSI and there is a Regionally Important Geological and Geomorphological Site (RIGS) within Shute Shelve Tunnel. The line provides an important recreational facility for local residents and visitors, especially dog walkers and cyclists. It is designated as part of the National Cycle Network and provides links with additional routes in this network, and surrounding public footpaths - providing extensive access for sustainable travel. The line also attracts tourism from the wider area, and is enjoyed by people who visit the line for recreation and rural retreat. 3.3 Ownership and designations 3.3.1 Typology The Strawberry Line is designated as a “Green Corridor”. The Green Infrastructure Strategy states that the management of these sites should maximise their social, environmental and economic potential. 3.3.2 Ownership North Somerset Council (NSC) is the freeholder of the majority of the site from Yatton Station to the A38. Ownership of the line is not continuous, but permissive access from other landowners allows a continuous route (see appendix 3). 3.3.3 Legal issues The Strawberry Line is protected in the Replacement Local Plan under policy T/1 – Existing and proposed railway lines and T/8 – Strategic cycle routes. The Replacement Local Plan Recognises the importance of the disused railway line for its nature conservation value and its recreational potential. The importance of the line will continue to be reflected in the emerging Core Strategy. 4 The Strawberry Line Draft Management Plan March 2011 The majority of the line within North Somerset Council ownership is designated as a LNR under Section 21 of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, and amended by Schedule 11 of the NERC Act 2006. The Biddle SSSI which runs between Yatton station and the A370 was designated under the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981) in 1994.