Reptile Survey Boverton, Vale of Glamorgan For Barratt Homes South Wales Project No.: ABAW105 / 007 May 2015 www.thomsonecology.com Reptile Survey Boverton, Vale of Glamorgan London & South East Compass House Surrey Research Park Guildford GU2 7AG . UK t: +44 (0)1483 466 000 North & Borders Calls Wharf 2 The Calls Leeds LS2 7JU . UK t: +44 (0)113 247 3780 Wales & South West Williams House 11-15 Columbus Walk Cardiff CF10 4BY . UK t: +44 (0)2920 020 674 Scotland 20-23 Woodside Place Glasgow G3 7QF . UK t: +44 (0)141 582 1333 Enquiries e: [email protected] w: www.thomsonecology.com 2 Barratt Homes South Wales, Report Ref.: ABAW105/ 007/ 005/ 001 Reptile Survey Boverton, Vale of Glamorgan Project Number Report No. ABAW105/007 005 Revision Report Date of Author Reviewer Approver No. Status Issue 001 Final 15/05/15 Andrew Bone Jonathan Reeves Liz Bedford Disclaimer: Copyright Thomson Ecology Limited. All rights reserved. No part of this report may be copied or reproduced by any means without prior written permission from Thomson Ecology Limited. If you have received this report in error, please destroy all copies in your possession or control and notify Thomson Ecology Limited. This report has been prepared for the exclusive use of the commissioning party and unless otherwise agreed in writing by Thomson Ecology Limited, no other party may use, make use of or rely on the contents of the report. No liability is accepted by Thomson Ecology Limited for any use of this report, other than for the purposes for which it was originally prepared and provided. Opinions and information provided in the report are on the basis of Thomson Ecology Limited using due skill, care and diligence in the preparation of the same and no explicit warranty is provided as to their accuracy. It should be noted and it is expressly stated that no independent verification of any of the documents or information supplied to Thomson Ecology Limited has been made. Barratt Homes South Wales, Report Ref.: ABAW105/ 007/ 005/ 001 3 Reptile Survey Boverton, Vale of Glamorgan Contents 1. Summary and Main Recommendations .................................................................................5 1.1 Summary .......................................................................................................................5 1.2 Main Recommendations ...............................................................................................5 2. Introduction.............................................................................................................................6 2.1 Development Background.............................................................................................6 2.2 Ecology Background .....................................................................................................6 2.3 The Brief and Objectives...............................................................................................7 2.4 Limitations .....................................................................................................................7 2.5 Surveyors ......................................................................................................................7 3. Methodology ...........................................................................................................................8 3.1 General Approach .........................................................................................................8 3.2 Presence / Absence Survey..........................................................................................8 3.3 Dates of Survey.............................................................................................................9 4. Results..................................................................................................................................10 4.1 Visual Search ..............................................................................................................10 4.2 Refugia Search............................................................................................................10 5. Legal and Planning Policy Issues.........................................................................................11 6. Recommendations................................................................................................................12 7. Conclusion............................................................................................................................13 8. References ...........................................................................................................................14 9. Appendix 1: British Reptiles..................................................................................................15 Figure 1 Site Location Figure 2 Reptile Refugia Locations and Survey Results 4 Barratt Homes South Wales, Report Ref.: ABAW105/ 007/ 005/ 001 Reptile Survey Boverton, Vale of Glamorgan 1. Summary and Main Recommendations 1.1 Summary 1.1.1 Barratt Homes South Wales are seeking planning permission for a residential development located adjacent to the B4265, Boverton, Vale of Glamorgan. The development will be located on 2.41 ha of farmland and will comprise the construction of residential units and associated tree planting and public open spaces. The location of the site is shown in Figure 1. 1.1.2 In March 2015 Thomson Ecology was commissioned to undertake a reptile survey to determine the presence or likely absence of reptiles at the site. The brief was to undertake a reptile survey using a visual search and survey of artificial reptile refugia in suitable habitat on site, comprising one visit to distribute the refugia and seven survey visits to check for the presence of reptiles. 1.1.3 The site was found to support slow worm (Anguis fragilis), which is estimated as being present at a low population size. Slow worm was recorded in the centre of the site and towards the south eastern boundary of the site, see Figure 2. 1.1.4 Slow worm receives protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, as amended. As it is an offence to deliberately kill or injure slow worm, this will need to be avoided during the development process. Slow worm is also a Species of Principal Importance in Wales under Section 42 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006. It is government policy that local authorities should consider the conservation status of these species when determining the success of planning applications. 1.2 Main Recommendations 1.2.1 It is recommended that a reptile mitigation method statement should be agreed with the Local Planning Authority, which would be expected to include: Identification and, where necessary, enhancement of a suitable receptor site for use by reptiles; Installation of reptile exclusion fencing around the site; A programme of capture and removal of slow worm from within the site and translocation to the receptor site between March and September for a minimum of 30 days; Site clearance under an ecological watching brief; and Management of the receptor site to ensure the population remains viable. Barratt Homes South Wales, Report Ref.: ABAW105/ 007/ 005/ 001 5 Filepath: S:\Cardiff\Projects\ABAW105 Phs 1 & Arb, Boverton\Reports\Mapping\Working\Reptile Survey\ABAW105_Fig1_SiteLocation_KM_050515.mxd Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database rights 2014. Licence Number 100030994. This map must not be copied or reproduced by any means without prior written permission from Thomson Ecology Ltd. F F C i i l g g i e S L u u n e r r i t e t e g e e N T G n i u t r d l m e i d S b R i e t e r e f e r e B B n c o e a u : 2 r n 9 r 8 d a , 7 a t 1 1 t r y 1 H S 6 8 i o , t 5 e 3 m 4 L e o 1 s c S a o t i u o t n h W a l e s D S D D c r r a a a a 0 t e w w l e 5 n i n a / g 0 t A K R A 5 4 e M / B f 2 A 0 W 1 1 5 : 1 5 0 0 5 , 0 D C / 1 a h 0 0 t e 8 e 0 c 5 4 k e / 4 0 d 5 N 5 / / S 1 2 0 1 5 e n q w u w i r i w e . s t h @ o t m h o s 0 o m n s e o c n o K e l i o c l o o g m 0 l y o . ± 5 e c g t o y r . m e c s o m 1 ") ") ") www.thomsonecology.com ") [email protected] ") ") ") ") Legend ") ") Reptile Survey Results ") Number of slow worm per visit ") ") ") 1 ") ") ") 3 ") ") ") ") ") Reptile Refugia ") ") ") Site Boundary ") ") ") ") ") ") ") ") ") ") ") ") ") ") ") ") ") ") ") ") ") ") ") d ") x ") m . 5 1 ") ") 5 0 ") 5 0 ") _ ") ") M ") K _ ") s ") t l ") u s ") e ") R y ") e ") v r ") ") u ") S d n ") ") A s n o i ") t ") a ") ") c o L a ") i g ") u f ") e B ") R 4 ") e l ") ") i 2 t 5 p e 6 R L ") _ ") ") ") 2 la g i n F t ") ") _ w 5 i ") 0 t 1 M ") ") ") W a A j Site Grid Reference: 298,712 168,532 B o ") A r \ y B ") e y ") Contains Ordnance Survey data. v r p ") © Crown copyright and database rights 2013. u a S s Licence Number 100030994. e s l ") i ") t ") p ") This map must not be copied or reproduced by any means e R \ without prior written permission from Thomson Ecology Ltd. g ") n i k ") r o Drawing Ref W ") \ ") g ") ABAW105/18446/1 n i p p Scale at A3 a M \ 1:1,050 s t r ") o p ") Drawn Checked e ") R ") \ KM NS n o t r ") e Date Date v o B 05/05/2015 05/05/2015 , ") b r ") A ") Client & ") 1 Barratt Homes South Wales ") s h P Figure Number ") 5 0 ") 1 2 W A Figure Title B A \ s t ") ") c ") e j o Reptile Refugia r ") P ") \ f f i Locations and Survey Results d ") r a ± C \ : S 0 10 20 : h t a p e Metres l i F Reptile Survey Boverton, Vale of Glamorgan 2. Introduction 2.1 Development Background