Brighton & Hove’s Wildlife Forum Minutes: 11th June 2013, meeting at the Booth Key actions and summary points for the CSP Lengthy discussion over choosing best Local Wildlife Sites in Brighton & Hove took place -Item 3 Geodiversity Sites should be included under the LWS review, four are recommended -Item 3 BHWF might need to put forward views on nature conservation to the council once ecologist departs - Item 4 BHWF will contact the new Conservation Manager when appointed - Item 5 BHCC failing to control the serious Japanese Knotweed problem on several sites- needs addressing - Item 9 State of Nature report reveals one in ten of all UK species to be under threat of extinction - Item 9 Present: Martin Robinson (MR)-chairman, & Dave Bell (DB) Benfield Wildlife & Conservation Group/Friends of Hangleton Park; Maureen Holt (MH) –notes, Keep the Ridge Green; John Patmore (JP) Eco 21st ; Christine Fitzgerald (CF), Andrew FitzGerald (AF) Friends of Waterhall; Roger Carter (RC) Friends Craven Wood; Nicola Yuill (NY) Stanmer Preservation Society; Mike Parrott (MP) Friends of Bevendean Down; Stuart Derwent (SD) Friends of Withdean Park; Huw Morgan (HM) Sussex Wildlife Trust; Pru Gridley (PG) – Nature enthusiast; James Newmarch (JN) Landscape Architect; John Cooper (JC) – Geology, and Host. Apologies: Phil Belden (PB) Brighton Urban Wildlife Group and South Downs National Park; Gill Taylor (GT) Hollingbury & Burstead Woods; Dolly Bell (DoB) Benfield; Colin Leeves (CL) KTRG; David Alderton( DA) Wild Park; Marcus Oldfield (MO) -TWEAK, Withdean & Westdene Woods; Lynn Bird (LB) Friends of Sheepcote Valley; 1. Chairman’s welcome to all, including two new members and introduction of group representatives. 2. Minutes of last meeting (23- 4-13) were approved. Matters arising: (JP) International Biodiversity Day was held on 22nd May 2013, theme: 'Water and Biodiversity', no action from BHCC on this day noted. Stanmer Festival of Nature has just taken place- a joint venture between SWT, BHCC & SDNP; DB commented that it was good while PG had reservations about it being too commercial. 3. Choosing the best wildlife sites in Brighton and Hove. MR reported he had just received by email the lengthy information from Matthew Thomas (who is leaving the council at the end of July) regarding relevant judging criteria, and was unclear how site survey data was to be collected by the 3 assessment panels who will be judging 150 sites across the city. Discussions took place where RC considered some sites to be so obscure they would not have received any comments but there was a leaning towards including as many as possible, and MR suggested a simple A,B,C, scoring procedure, with ‘A’ for the best sites. Assuming each assessment meeting is for 3 hours, this will, even then, only allow an average of approx. 3½ minutes to discuss each site. JP and JC proposed that Earth science and Geomorphology aspects need to be included. Local Geological Sites should be added to the LWS list, including: TQ30/135 Stanmer Village TQ30/236 Black Rock, Brighton Marina TQ20/121 The Goldstone, Hove Park TQ40/174b Coastal section: Friar's Bay to Brighton Marina (The Booth Museum of Natural History can provide full details) Despite strong recommendations in the Formal LBAP consultation to include geodiversity this was ignored but the Local Authority (as a major public land owner) has a Duty to include geodiversity; for example refer to: The National Planning Policy Framework (for England) – NPPF, the guidance which went with PPS 9 is retained (Government Circular 06/2005: Biodiversity and Geological Conservation - Statutory obligations and their impact within the planning system). NPPF includes: • paragraph 109: The planning system should contribute and enhance the natural and local environment by protecting and enhancing valued landscapes, geological conservation interests and soils. • paragraph 113: Local planning authorities should set criteria-based policies against which proposals for any development on or affecting protected wildlife or geodiversity sites or landscape areas will be judged. • paragraph 117: To minimise impacts on biodiversity and geodiversity, planning policies should aim to prevent harm to geological conservation interests. BHCC are explicitly required, when assessing planning applications, to formally include a section on the biodiversity element and there is a new ‘Biodiversity and Planning Decisions References’ checklist on this (refer to: Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology Note #429 www.parliament.uk/business/publications/research/briefing- papers/POST-PN-429). 1 England Biodiversity Strategy (2011): [note: 'Nature /Natural ' includes both biodiversity and geodiversity]Priority action: Establish more coherent and resilient ecological networks on land that safeguards ecosystem services 2.6. We will encourage adoption of integrated, landscape-scale approaches. This approach will also help achieve multiple outcomes, including conserving geodiversity and enhancing landscapes in our towns and countryside. 2.17 Planning and development. Priority action: Through reforms of the planning system, take a strategic approach to planning for nature within and across local areas. 3.4: Planning and development. Priority action: Through reforms of the planning system, take a strategic approach to planning for nature within and across local areas. This approach will guide development to the best locations, encourage greener design and enable development to enhance natural networks. We will retain the protection and improvement of the natural environment as core objectives of the planning system. 4. Loss/reduction of council environmental posts- BHWF providing nature conservation advice to the council? – (JP) the council will soon be without a qualified ecologist so BHWF may now need to have a greater role to play in providing formal biodiversity and geodiversity advice to BHCC senior officers. Precise details of any formal relationship and 'service standards' will need to be discussed. It was doubtful whether the new post for “Conservation Manager” had yet been advertised as it could not be found on the website. 5. Council presence – representatives at Forum meetings - HM considered this new council position would provide an ideal opportunity to build a new relationship, and that the newly appointed Conservation Manager (or a representative) should receive an open invitation to attend Forum meetings. RC had discussed the matter briefly with Pete West after the last CSP meeting and it was agreed a letter from the Forum outlining the suggestion should be sent. 6. Local Groups updates - concerns & successes. Benfield Wildlife & Conservation Group (DoB) - had a very well attended Guided Flower Walk, not all the flowers were in bloom but at least 44 different ones were and Sally discovered our one and only Fragrant Orchid. Another bench, donated by a group member has been put up at the top of the hill and the Magnify Post put in. The attractive Benfield Hill- LNR leaflet designed by Jane Hawkins, was distributed. This group are hosting the BHWF ‘annual get together’ event with refreshments, along with a celebration of over 20 years as a Nature Reserve- on Friday 19th July, Meet @ 7.15 at St Helens Church Hall Hangleton Way Hove, all welcome but please let us know numbers for catering. For more information about the reserve and events, see our web site on http://benfieldlnr.tumblr.com/ Friends of Hangleton Park (DB) A very well attended litter pick on our work-day, also ‘Community Payback’ helped to clear some thick undergrowth; we found 2 Frogs and several damselflies' and a couple of Hawkers whilst we were working. We are now working towards our Festival on 31st August. Friends of Bevendean Down (MP) On our last workday we were removing hawthorn re-growth from 'Cardboard Hill'. The site has got very overgrown as the Council has spent the money that in previous years has been spent on mowing the hill, on other projects. This has wasted many years of our work and ensured a drop in Adonis Blue numbers. On 21 July we are having our annual butterfly walk, meet at the corner of Norwich Drive at 10.30, all are welcome. Friends of Craven Wood (RC) have continued to plant up with hazel and wildflowers and RC was thrilled to witness an Adonis Blue butterfly laying eggs on Birds Foot Trefoil Friends of Hollingbury and Burstead Woods (GT) Friends of Hollingbury & Burstead Woods Recent work sessions have included glade and hedge maintenance and clearing a large area at the bottom of the southern slopes of dumped garden waste and planting some hollies there - to try and deter locals from using the woods as a site for green waste. Later this month we will be working with Hertford Junior school (year 3) doing a classroom visit which will be followed up by a field trip to the woods. We hope that by working with schools the children will grow up appreciating the woods as opposed to vandalising them. Our A.G.M was very successful and in the end a limit needed to be put on the number of questions to Alister Peters otherwise he would still be there now answering them, such was the interest in his talk on trees! Friends of Sheepcote Valley (JH) -The sheep have left us until Autumn grazing starts. There were mixed results using Spring grazing to control the scrub and bramble invasion and their continuing presence would have been detrimental to our summer flowering plants, which look set to give a bumper display. We are hoping there will be lots of invertebrate life, too. We are still very concerned at the onward march of brambles and hawthorn. We are hoping for a good showing of bee and pyramid orchids. Some bee orchids have been spotted already. Workdays – benches have been installed and litter has been picked, but our last workday was cancelled due to lack of a ranger. We had a successful and enjoyable day at the Sussex Festival of Nature, helping children to make bird feeders on our stall.