Severn Trent Water Trescott Sewage Treatment Works Extended Phase 1 Habitat Survey Hyder Consulting (UK) Limited 2212959 Firecrest Court Centre Park Warrington WA1 1RG United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)1925 800 700 Fax: +44 (0)1925 830 207 www.hyderconsulting.com Severn Trent Water Trescott Sewage Treatment Works Extended Phase 1 Habitat Survey Author Adrian Taylor Checker Samantha Walters Approver David Hoare Report No 0002-UA002412-NHR-01 Date September 2010 This report has been prepared for Severn Trent Water in accordance with the terms and conditions of appointment for Environmental Services dated 25 May 2010. Hyder Consulting (UK) Limited (2212959) cannot accept any responsibility for any use of or reliance on the contents of this report by any third party. Trescott Sewage Treatment Works— Hyder Consulting (UK) Limited-2212959 CONTENTS 1 SUMMARY ....................................................................................... 1 2 INTRODUCTION............................................................................... 2 3 METHODOLOGY .............................................................................. 3 3.1 Desk Study ....................................................................................... 3 3.2 Extended Phase 1 Habitat Survey ..................................................... 3 4 RESULTS ......................................................................................... 4 4.1 Desk Study ....................................................................................... 4 4.2 Habitats ............................................................................................ 5 4.3 Protected and Notable Species.......................................................... 6 5 POTENTIAL CONSTRAINTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............... 8 5.1 Designated Sites ............................................................................... 8 5.2 Habitats ............................................................................................ 8 5.3 Protected and Notable Species.......................................................... 9 6 REFERENCES ............................................................................... 10 Appendices Figures Figure 1: Extended Phase 1 Habitat Survey Map Appendix A Extended Phase 1 Habitat Survey Target Notes Appendix B Records Received from Staffordshire Wildlife Trust and EcoRecord Trescott Sewage Treatment Works— Hyder Consulting (UK) Limited-2212959 Page i Trescott Sewage Treatment Works— Hyder Consulting (UK) Limited-2212959 Page ii 1 SUMMARY Hyder Consulting (UK) Ltd has undertaken an initial ecological appraisal of Trescott Sewage Treatment Works, on behalf of Severn Trent Water, in order to identify any potential constraints to the proposals to upgrade the existing works. No habitats of particular conservation value were noted within the Site. Smestow Brook which is adjacent to the Site’s southern boundary is considered to be of some nature conservation value but it is unlikely that the Brook would be affected by the works. It is recommended that a buffer zone be provided between the Brook and any development proposals. If at all possible it is recommended that the mature trees, particularly those with features suitable for use by roosting bats, are retained and that the badger sett is retained also. In the event that this is not possible further surveys would be required to confirm the presence/absence of roosting bats. Any works in close proximity to the badger sett may need to take place under licence; a licence would be required to close this sett if it was not possible to retain it in-situ. It is possible that small numbers of common species of reptiles may be present, thus recommendations have been made to avoid mortality to reptiles during construction. Trescott Sewage Treatment Works— Hyder Consulting (UK) Limited-2212959 Page 1 2 INTRODUCTION Hyder Consulting (UK) Ltd was commissioned by Severn Trent Water to undertake an ecological appraisal in order to inform proposals to upgrade Trescott Sewage Treatment Works in Wolverhampton. This technical report presents the results of an Extended Phase 1 Habitat survey and desk study undertaken to identify valuable habitats and their potential to support protected / notable species within the study area. General recommendations to minimise the ecological impacts of the upgrade works are outlined, together with the need for further surveys to inform these recommendations, as appropriate. The survey was undertaken in August 2010. Trescott Sewage Treatment Works— Hyder Consulting (UK) Limited-2212959 Page 2 3 METHODOLOGY 3.1 Desk Study Existing ecological information for the Site and the surrounding area has been gathered from Staffordshire Wildlife Trust / Ecological Records Centre and EcoRecord, the ecological database for Birmingham and the Black Country. Records were requested for non-statutory designated sites and for protected and otherwise notable species of flora and fauna, including those listed in international and national legislation and national and local Biodiversity Action Plans, within the survey area and within 2 km of the Site boundary. The Multi-Agency Geographic Information for the Countryside website www.magic.gov.uk was consulted for records of statutory designated sites on or within 2 km of the Site, and a National Biodiversity Network (NBN) search was undertaken for protected and notable species. 3.2 Extended Phase 1 Habitat Survey The technique used for the survey was the Extended Phase 1 Habitat Survey (Joint Nature Conservation Committee, 1990) whereby all habitats within the survey area are mapped and described using a series of ‘Target Notes’ to provide an overview of the Site (see Figure 1). Dominant plant species were noted, as were any uncommon species or species indicative of particular habitat types. Botanical names follow ‘New Flora of the British Isles’ (2nd edition, Stace 1997). In addition, any non-native invasive species present in the survey area including Japanese Knotweed Fallopia japonica , Indian (Himalayan) Balsam Impatiens glandulifera and Rhododendron Rhododendron ponticum were also recorded. The survey also involved a critical assessment of the value of terrestrial and aquatic habitats suitable for use by protected species or species of conservation concern. Trescott Sewage Treatment Works— Hyder Consulting (UK) Limited-2212959 Page 3 4 RESULTS 4.1 Desk Study 4.1.1 Statutory Designated Sites There are no statutory designated sites within 2 km of the Site. 4.1.2 Non-Statutory Designated Sites There are eight non-statutory designated sites within 2 km of the Site boundary: Staffordshire and Worcester Canal Site of Biological Importance 1 site reference no. 89/55/84 Nurton Brook Site of Biological Importance – site reference no. 89/49/14 Rushy Marsh Biodiversity Alert Site 2 – site reference no. 89/37/43 Great Moor (near) Biodiversity Alert Site – site reference no. 89/48/07 Freehold Wood Biodiversity Alert Site - site reference no. 89/48/24 The Pool, west of Lower Penn Biodiversity Alert Site - site reference no. 89/57/90 Castlecroft Bridge (canal & adjoining meadow) Biodiversity Alert Site – site reference no. 89/67/68 Kingswinford Railway Walk Biodiversity Alert Site – site reference no. 89/74/10 There are three areas of semi-natural / replanted ancient woodland within 2 km of the Site boundary: Middle Wood Ancient Replanted Woodland Freehold Wood Ancient Replanted Woodland Wightwick Court Ancient Replanted Woodland None of the non-statutory designated sites are within the Site boundary. The Pool, west of Lower Penn Biodiversity Alert Site is the closest at approximately 0.5 km to the south-east of the Site. The location and extent of all non-statutory sites are shown in Appendix B. 4.1.3 Protected and Notable Species No protected species records were returned for the Site itself by either Staffordshire Wildlife Trust / Ecological Records Centre or EcoRecord, although several dead badger Meles meles records, presumably Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs), were returned for within 2 km of the Site with one close to its northern boundary. Records were returned for otters Lutra lutra and water voles Arvicola amphibious (formerly called A.terrestris ) within 1.5 km of the Site. Other records 1 Sites of Biological Importance are equivalent to County Wildlife Sites (i.e. of County Importance) and are included in the Local Plans of Staffordshire’s Local Authorities with a presumption against development. 2 Biodiversity Alert Sites are of Local Importance for Nature Conservation or other areas of interest for wildlife where there may be potential to improve the habitat to SBI standard with appropriate management. These sites are not normally included within the Local Plans. Trescott Sewage Treatment Works— Hyder Consulting (UK) Limited-2212959 Page 4 of protected and notable species within the search area comprised bat species (common pipistrelle Pipistrellus pipistrellus and brown long-eared Plecotus auritus ), polecat Mustela putorius and a number of bird species of conservation concern. No protected species records were revealed within 2 km of the Site by a search of the NBN Gateway. The location of all species records provided by the consultees is shown on the plan in Appendix B. 4.2 Habitats Figure 1 illustrates the habitats recorded during the survey and the location of Target Notes (TN) of features of particular interest. These are described in Appendix A. The habitats within the Site comprised improved and species-poor semi-improved