BARBY MANOR FARM, BARBY LANE, BARBY Preliminary Ecological Appraisal Client: RG+P Ltd. Report Reference: RSE_2053_01 Issue Date: February 2019 Phase 1 survey of land at Barby Manor Farm, Barby Lane, Barby East Midlands: West Midlands: Yorkshire: London: Contact: Osprey House Chase View Barn The Former Library Keltan House, [email protected] Merlin Way Dunston Business 10 Leeds Road 115 Mare Street www.rammsanderson.com Village Quarry Hill Sheffield London @rammsanderson Industrial Estate Stafford Road S9 3TY E8 4RU Ilkeston Stafford [T]0114243 9179 Derbyshire Staffordshire DE7 4RA ST18 9AB [T]0115 930 2493 [T]01785 711 575 (Issuing Office) Project Details Client: RG+P Ltd. Project: Barby Manor Farm, Barby Lane, Barby Reference RSE_2053_01 Report Title Preliminary Ecological Appraisal DISCLOSURE: The information provided within this report has been prepared and provided as true and in accordance with the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management’s (CIEEM) Code of Professional Conduct. It is intended for the sole use of the Client and their agents in accordance with the agreement under which our services were performed. Unauthorised communication, reproduction or usage of this report by any party other than the aforementioned is prohibited. No warranty, express or implied, is made as to the advice in this report or any other service provided by RammSanderson Ecology Ltd. This report has been prepared by an ecological specialist and does not purport to provide legal advice. RammSanderson is a trading name of RammSanderson Ecology Limited, as registered in England & Wales (Company No.: 8999992). Document Control Originated: Lauri Leivers BSc Ecologist 12/02/2019 (Hons) GradCIEEM Technical Nick Sanderson BSc Director 13/02/2019 Reviewed: MSc MCIEEM Issued to Nick Sanderson BSc Director 27/02/2019 Client: MSc MCIEEM Revisions: Page 2 of 39 Phase 1 survey of land at Barby Manor Farm, Barby Lane, Barby 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.1 Background RammSanderson Ecology Ltd was instructed by RG+P Ltd. to carry out a Preliminary Ecological Appraisal at Barby Manor Farm, Barby Lane, Barby, to inform a planning proposal for industrial development of the site. The report provides ecological information to submit with a planning application. The site comprised scrub and poor semi-improved grassland compartment bound with wooden post and rail fencing. Immature trees were present around the peripheries of the site and an earth bund was located along the south-western corner of the site. The site was approximately 0.7 hectares in size and was set within a primarily rural setting with agricultural lands surrounding it. The residential town of Barby was 0.6km to the south of the site, and the M45 motorway was 70m north. Further surveys are recommended in the form of badger monitoring and HSI assessments of three ponds in relation to the development of this site, which are outlined below. Recommendations for mitigation and compensation may also be outlined below to negate or minimise potential ecological impacts: Great Crested Newt No ponds were located on site, however seven ponds and one waterbody were identified within 500m of the site boundary. P1-3 are recommended to be subject to a HSI assessment to establish their suitability for breeding newt populations. P4-7 are located beyond major barriers to newt dispersal. There were 10 records of GCN returned by the desk study results, however all records were situated north west, beyond the M45 motorway which is a barrier to dispersal. The habitats on site are largely sub optimal with the areas of highest value being concentrated at the boundaries in the form of the scrub and hedgerow habitats. Bats There were no buildings on site, and the immature trees on site were unsuitable for supporting roosting bats owing to a lack of potential roosting features. The primary foraging and commuting routes for bats are considered to be the boundary vegetation which included scrub and broad-leaved scattered trees. However, further survey for this species is not considered necessary or proportionate due to the small scale of the works and the retention/enhancements of the boundary vegetation. A lighting strategy sensitive to nocturnal fauna should be utilised, details of which can be found within section 6.3.3. If this is not possible it may be necessary to carry out further activity surveys for bat species on site to establish the level of activity and key commuting routes. Birds The trees and hedgerows on site offered suitable habitat for nesting birds, any vegetation clearance / tree pruning works should be completed outside of the bird nesting season (which is considered to be March to September inclusive). If this is not possible the area should first be checked by a suitably qualified ecologist for any in-use nests. If any in-use nests are found, these should be protected from works until they are no longer in-use. Reptiles The overall site was considered to be of very limited value for reptiles, consisting largely of a poor semi-improved grassland field. The sites peripheral habitats, potentially of some value for refuge and foraging reptiles, are Page 3 of 39 Phase 1 survey of land at Barby Manor Farm, Barby Lane, Barby being either retained or enhanced by the proposals. No records of reptile species were returned within the desk study, and the site is within a rural setting surrounded by more optimal habitats for reptiles. As such further survey for reptiles on this site is considered disproportionate as it lacks suitable habitat heterogeneity for reptiles to persist on site. It is however recommended that a precautionary approach is adopted during any vegetation clearance on site. This should include facilitative clearance of other vegetation kept to an absolute minimum and undertaken on warm days with temperatures exceeding 110C using hand held tools only. Habitats Overall the habitats within the site were considered to be of limited ecological value, with only small areas considered to have the potential to support protected/notable faunal species (as per those listed above). The trees and hedgerow habitats are being retained within the development and potential enhancements could be made. Enhancements Retention and enhancements of the scattered trees and hedgerow habitats, through implementing of additional native planting would benefit local flora and fauna through the improvement of ecological corridors. Additional enhancements easily achievable within the development are the incorporation of bat and bird nesting boxes, situated within the retained perimeter vegetation. The site will also incorporate new flood attenuation features which, if planted with native flora would provide a valuable ecological addition to this site. Ecological Constraints and Opportunities Plan The ecological constraints and opportunities plan overleaf summarises the areas where further surveys and precautionary approaches are recommended as well as highlighting potential enhancement and retention of ecological corridors. Page 4 of 39 Phase 1 survey of land at Barby Manor Farm, Barby Lane, Barby CONTENTS 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3 1.1 BACKGROUND 3 2 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND 8 2.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF THIS REPORT 8 2.2 ZONE OF INFLUENCE 8 2.3 SITE CONTEXT AND LOCATION 9 3 LEGISLATION AND PLANNING POLICY 11 3.1 GENERAL & REGIONALLY SPECIFIC POLICIES 11 3.2 BATS AND GREAT CRESTED NEWTS 11 3.3 BIRDS 12 3.4 REPTILES 12 3.5 BADGER 12 4 METHODOLOGY 14 4.1 IMPACT APPRAISAL 14 4.2 DESK BASED ASSESSMENT 14 4.3 PHASE 1 HABITAT SURVEY 15 4.4 PROTECTED / NOTABLE SPECIES SCOPING ASSESSMENT 15 4.5 BATS 15 4.6 LIMITATIONS 16 4.7 ACCURATE LIFESPAN OF ECOLOGICAL DATA 16 5 RESULTS 17 5.1 SURVEYORS 17 5.2 DESK STUDY 17 5.3 HABITAT CONNECTIVITY AND CLOSEST RELEVANT RECORDS 20 5.4 PHASE 1 HABITAT SURVEY 22 5.5 PRELIMINARY PROTECTED / NOTABLE SPECIES ASSESSMENT 25 6 DISCUSSION & RECOMMENDATIONS 31 6.1 HABITATS 31 6.2 STATUTORILY AND NON-STATUTORILY DESIGNATED SITES 32 6.3 FAUNA 32 6.4 ENHANCEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS 34 Page 6 of 39 Phase 1 survey of land at Barby Manor Farm, Barby Lane, Barby 7 REFERENCES 36 FIGURES FIGURE 1: ECOLOGICAL CONSTRAINTS AND OPPORTUNITIES PLAN 5 FIGURE 2: POND REFERENCE PLAN 5 FIGURE 3: SITE LOCATION AND CONTEXT PLAN 10 FIGURE 4: SITE HABITAT CONNECTIVITY AND CLOSEST RELEVANT RECORDS 21 FIGURE 5: DENSE CONTINUOUS SCRUB 22 FIGURE 6: SCATTERED SCRUB 23 FIGURE 7: POOR SEMI-IMPROVED GRASSLAND 24 FIGURE 8: TALL RUDERAL VEGETATION 24 FIGURE 9: POND LOCATION PLAN 26 FIGURE 10: RUBBLE PILE 28 FIGURE 11: MAMMAL HOLE 29 FIGURE 12: MAMMAL TRACK 29 TABLES TABLE 1: CONSULTED RESOURCES 14 TABLE 2: CRITERIA FOR BAT ROOST POTENTIAL ASSESSMENT OF TREES 15 TABLE 3: SUMMARY OF CONDITIONS DURING SURVEY 17 TABLE 4: STATUTORILY DESIGNATED SITES WITHIN 5KM OF SITE BOUNDARY 17 TABLE 5: NON-STATUTORY DESIGNATED SITES WITHIN 2KM OF SITE BOUNDARY 18 TABLE 6: HABITATS OF PRINCIPAL IMPORTANCE WITHIN 1KM OF THE SITE 19 TABLE 7: SUMMARY OF PROTECTED AND NOTABLE SPECIES RECORDS 19 TABLE 8: PHASE 1 HABITAT TYPES AND THEIR ECOLOGICAL IMPORTANCE 31 APPENDICES APPENDIX 1: PHASE 1 HABITAT SURVEY PLAN 37 APPENDIX 2: SPECIES LIST 38 APPENDIX 3: INDICATIVE SITE PLAN (DRAWING REF: 41140 SK10D) 39 Page 7 of 39 Phase 1 survey of land at Barby Manor Farm, Barby Lane, Barby 2 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND 2.1 Purpose and Scope of this Report RammSanderson Ecology Ltd was commissioned by RG+P Ltd. to assess the potential ecological impacts of a proposed industrial development on land at Barby Manor Farm, Barby, Northamptonshire. To complete an ecological impact assessment of the proposals, a desk-based assessment, Extended Phase 1 Habitat Survey, and a preliminary protected species assessment were carried out. Taken together, in common with the Chartered Institute of Ecology & Environmental Management’s (CIEEM) 2012 publication this is termed as a Preliminary Ecological Appraisal (PEA).