The Nature of Rushcliffe 2021

Rushcliffe Nature Conservation Strategy Implementation Group

The Nature of Rushcliffe 2021 - Annual Report – published 2022

Contents

1. Introduction
2. Chairman's Statement
3. Appendix A - Indicators of Achievement
4. Appendix B - Nature Reserves
5. Appendix C - Voluntary practical nature conservation work carried out in Rushcliffe
6. Appendix D - Condition of SSSI’s in Rushcliffe (as assessed by Natural England)
7. Appendix E - Barn Owl Results
8. Appendix F - Access to Nature
9. Appendix G - Progress report for the Nature Conservation Strategy 2021 - 2025
10. Appendix H - Nature Conservation Projects and Activities in Rushcliffe
11. Appendix I - Biodiversity Opportunity Mapping Project

 

1. Introduction

The strategy group was set up in 2003 to implement the Rushcliffe Nature Conservation Strategy and consists of a range of organisations and groups with an interest in Rushcliffe’s wildlife. Member organisations of the implementation group include:

• Rushcliffe Borough Council
• Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust (NWT)
• Nottinghamshire County Council
• Nottinghamshire Biodiversity Action Group

And various local wildlife groups, interest groups and parish councils

The Rushcliffe Nature Conservation Strategy and action plan was reviewed and updated and adopted in 2010, 2015, with the latest 2021-2025 strategy and plan adopted in 2021. The actions are to be carried out by a range of organisations including those on the implementation group. The strategy is published on Rushcliffe Nature Conservation Strategy webpage.

Nature conservation in Rushcliffe is provided by broadly based community activity, with work carried out by a range of ‘Friends’ groups, work parties and other groups and individuals, as well as “official” organisations. A key role for RNCSIG is to bring together the organisations and community-based activities to provide both an overview of Rushcliffe conservation activities, but also to seek ways and means to further extend conservation activity in a strategic fashion.

The strategic aim is to protect and enhance Rushcliffe’s wildlife resources, thereby contributing towards local and national biodiversity action plan targets.

The progress of the strategy is assessed and reported in the appendices.

For more details see RNCSIG Facebook

2. Chairman's Statement

Looking Nationally

The Government have a stated ambition to create a Nature Recovery Network via county based Nature Recovery Plans to deliver ambitious targets, namely restore 75% of protected sites to favourable condition,

• create or restore at least 500,000 additional hectares of wildlife-rich habitat,
• recover our threatened animal & plant species
• create wildlife corridors to reduce isolation and assist movement
• support the planting of 180,000 hectares of woodland
• deliver carbon capture, flood management, clean water, pollination and recreation
• bring nature much closer to people boosting health and wellbeing.

The Wildlife Trusts have identified that the minimum requirement for a genuine nature recovery means at least 30% of land being "wildlife friendly" by 2030. They also believe that to achieve that sort of recovery will involve at least 30% citizen engagement to
lock the government into agreed targets in a realistic way. None of this is rocket science but does require significant buy in from all sectors of society. Nationally Biodiversity Net Gain and changes to farming support appear to provide some real possibility of change.

At a county level, Notts County Council are expected to be mandated to act as a "lead" in developing a county Local Nature Recovery Strategy as part of this national objective. The LNRS process will deliver two main outputs:

• a list of priority opportunities for habitat improvement and restoration in the strategy area, and;
• a local habitat map which contains existing nature sites and habitats, and locations of the priorities for future habitat improvement and restoration.

This will consolidate work done over the years on county Species and Habitat Action Plans, as well as Biodiversity Opportunity Mapping. The intention is to consult with councils, NGO`s, key land managers and other groups about priorities. The Rushcliffe Nature Conservation Strategy has always supported these sorts of ambitions, the big challenge will be making it a reality, at scale across the borough.

The Rushcliffe nature conservation community already deliver significant levels of activity on the ground. But for the objectives outlined above it will require a whole other level of commitment from a much wider base. To shamelessly plagiarise a recycling slogan "For our wildlife to recover requires millions of people to engage with the natural world imperfectly, rather than just a few people to do it perfectly".

Community level action has always been at the core of our local nature conservation strategy, even at its inception, the essential idea came up from the grassroots. And although you need the "big fish" participating in order to give the whole thing some weight, a lot of what is going on today is driven by local activism. Indeed, Rushcliffe Borough Council`s continued commitment is in part because RNCSIG can demonstrate that there is a genuine desire by local active citizens to take action.

There are 39 sites classed as nature reserves, totalling some 507 hectares. Ownership of reserves varies, but most are in some form of council ownership or with NGO`s. For a full list of such sites see Appendix B below.

But there are also notable privately owned areas considered to be wildlife friendly (274 ha`s in total). In addition, Planning Gain sites in the pipeline cover some 103 ha`s wildlife areas + 106 ha`s open space, although this is driven by loss of land to house building.

In addition to the nature reserves and wildlife friendly sites there are a range of projects/activities locally - some run by NGO`s, companies LA`s, others by committed groups/individuals. broadly summarized as:

• Five Area Projects
• Ten Habitat and Species Projects
• Six Species Recording activities
• Three Invasive Species Control
• Seventeen Wildlife Education (incl WATCH, Forest Schools and U3A)

For a breakdown see Appendix 2 of the Rushcliffe Nature Conservation Strategy

Local initiatives continue to be a key part of nature conservation in Rushcliffe. Reserve work parties and other projects are reviving, although there may be issues of volunteer "drift". But there have also been additional "grass root" initiatives. There are plans to make the Hickling Canal Basin area more wildlife friendly, grass roots pressure to make Wilford Fields (West Bridgford) into a nature reserve and also to secure Flintham Spinney as a local green asset. Wild Things Keyworth are working to make the village more hedgehog friendly and being joined by East Leake. Whilst in Normanton on Soar there is an Environmental Group that may also form part of a wider Soar Valley initiative, and at Gotham Hill Woods the family owners are seeking to manage it in a wildlife friendly way.

The Nature of Rushcliffe 2021

Rushcliffe continue to fund the Rushcliffe Service Level Agreement, Nature Conservation Grants, Tree Community Scheme and the employment of the All-Terrain Mower across a dozen sites. In addition, RBC have started a No Mow programme on parts of selected sites of their estate and plan to extend it. Notts County Council are reintroducing a wildlife friendly management regime on Notified Road Verges across the whole County.

Rushcliffe is of course beset by a lot of house building, whilst those developments are agreed, the devil can be in the implementation. So planning continues to raise issues, with concerns at Sharphill Wood and Barton Quarry, where there are still ongoing discussions about the detailed measures and mitigations for habitats at risk. RNCSIG also has ongoing concerns about the Rushcliffe Borough Council's Planning Enforcement Policy guidelines.

Sadly the NWT Badger Edge Vaccination Scheme (BEVS) ran into significant problems in the Cropwell Bishop area with the introduction by DEFRA (who also fund the BEVS scheme!) of culling in an adjacent area. This led to a high drop out by farmers and the project is planning to target the Wysall/Willoughby area from this year instead (again funded largely by DEFRA).

Notts Wildlife Trust recognize that farming represents a major component of any ambition to extend wildlife friendly areas and connectivity and are looking at how to convert their one part time farming advisor for a selected area into four bodies, able to cover the entire county.

The Cotgrave Focal Area Project did largely go into hibernation over the past two years, although RNCSIG are now working to revive it. Water retention on the Grantham Canal has become a major concern, with stretches around Kinoulton in particular drying out. A group has been set up to look at what measures can be taken to mitigate against this. Another example of local action.

The Trent Gateway is a multi-agency project that is looking to work along the whole of the Trent Valley. In the Nottingham area they envisage that this will include funding for wildlife engagement projects and also a tree planting programme along the edge of the Trent, including our local Black Poplars. Rushcliffe Country Park are planning to run a delayed Bioblitz this year as a repeat of one run around a decade ago.

It is fair to say that there is more going on locally than most people realize. The amount of activity has increased markedly over the last two decades, often due to the drive and enthusiasm of committed individuals and groups, but typically on minimal resources. Perhaps if national rhetoric is translated into real action on the ground, over the next decade more can be achieved.

So fingers crossed.

Gordon Dyne
Chair - Rushcliffe Nature Conservation Strategy Implementation Group

Appendix A - Indicators of Achievement

As part of the strategy, eleven indicators of achievement were selected to measure the success of the strategy. Listed below are the indicators with the results for the year from January 2021 to December 2021.

Improvement is measured as:

• Improving
• No change / no previous data
• Deteriorating

1. % of nature reserves (as listed in our ‘Nature of Rushcliffe Annual Reports’) with current management plans. Target = 100% sites (Objective 2)
   IMPROVING
   • As of December 2021, there are thirty-nine sites managed predominantly as nature reserves, thirty three of these sites have current management plans (85%).
2. Hours of practical work carried out on nature reserves by volunteers. Target = Maintain or increase year on year across the Borough (Objective 2).
   IMPROVING
   • In the year January 2021 to December 2021, the estimated number of hours of voluntary nature conservation work carried out in Rushcliffe was 14,835.5 hours. Voluntary work for 2019 was 12,496.5 hours (due to COVID 19, figures were not
     recorded for 2020).
3. Increased proportion of Local Wildlife Sites (LWS) managed in an appropriate manner. Target = Increase year on year towards 100% from a base of 23% at March 2018/19 (Obj 2/3.)
   NO CHANGE / NO PREVIOUS DATA
   • Data not available for 2021 due to COVID 19 restrictions
4. Number of schools / Youth Organisations in Rushcliffe engaged in NWT related education activities. Target = 6 schools each year (Objective 5).
   IMPROVING
   • In 2021 a total of 9 activity sessions were run with 7 schools / Youth Organisations, engaging with 375 children.
5. Number of barn owl boxes installed and available for use and number of barn owl chicks raised in boxes. Target = maintain number of boxes available for use and sustain level of barn owl chicks raised (Objective 3 & 6)
   • The number of boxes available in 2021 was 172 boxes. The three-year average numbers of chicks ringed, increased from 73 chicks in 2020 to 77 chicks in 2021. This is within normal variation for the species. Further details are shown in
     appendix E.
6. % of nature reserves with wildlife related public events (at least one per year). Target = 70% of sites with at least one event per year (Objective 5).
   DETERIORATING
   • Six sites (that we are aware of) held public events during 2021 or 15%. This target was heavily impacted by COVID-19 restrictions.
7. % of Parishes / WB Wards with publicly accessible natural green spaces (39% in 2015, 48% in 2018). Target = 3 more parishes/wards with at least one accessible natural green space by 2025. (Objective 6).
   NO CHANGE / NO PREVIOUS DATA
   • 53% of parishes and West Bridgford wards have accessible natural green spaces. The accessibility of ‘green’ sites in Rushcliffe is shown in Appendix F.
8. No of Local Wildlife Sites (LWS). Target = No net loss of LWS sites (Objective 1/2/3/4/6).
   DETERIORATING
   • As of March 2022, there are 222 sites designated as LWS, this is an overall decrease of 2 site. The area of Local Wildlife Sites is 1908ha, up from 1900ha (NBGRC), an increase of 8ha.
9. Percentage of Tree canopy cover in Rushcliffe. Target = increase up to 20% from a base of 11.1% in 2020 (Obj 3).
   NO CHANGE / NO PREVIOUS DATA
   • Data for 2021 not available.
10. Area of BAP habitat created, restored or bought under active conservation management in order to link or buffer existing wildlife habitat. Target = 30 ha`s grassland, 10 ha`s woodland, 10 ha`s wetland between 2021 and 2025 (Objective 1/2/3/4).
    IMPROVING
    • Work we have financed / carried out during 2021/22:
      Tree Planting at Sharphill Wood, The Hook, Whatton and Orston, Wildflower seeds planted at Whatton and Orston. Additionally, 1361 trees were provided through tree schemes and 1000 wildflower seed packets provided to the public.
    • Cumulative Total (since Jan 2021):
      • Wildlife Grassland: 0.1 ha;
      • Woodland: 0.9 ha;
      • Wetland: 0 ha;
      • Ponds: 0 m²,
      • Hedgerow: 0 m,
      • Number of trees planted (outside woodlands): 1391.
11. Management of SSSI units to achieve a favourable condition according to Natural England assessment. Target = 95% of SSSI's managed to a favourable or recovering condition. (Obj 2/3).
    NO CHANGE / NO PREVIOUS DATA
    • In December 2018, 11.8% of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) units were in favourable condition. Full results are shown in Appendix D.
12. Percentage of available Rushcliffe Biodiversity Support Grant allocated each year. Target = 100% of grant (Obj 1/2).
    NO CHANGE / NO PREVIOUS DATA
    • In 2021 five grants were made totalling £2350, this amounted to 100% of the available funding for this year.

 

Appendix B - Nature Reserves

This is the list of nature reserves in Rushcliffe as at March 2022, which is used for the basis of this report.

List of nature reserves in Rushcliffe as at March 2022

Site	Ownership (Management)	Area - hectares	Designation	Habitats	Management Plan (last update)	Public Access
Bingham Linear Walk	Bingham Town Council (Friends Group)	12	LWS, LNS	Grass, Wood	2018	Yes
Bridgford Street Wildflower Meadow, East Bridgford	East Bridgford Parish Council (East Bridgford Wildlife and Biodiversity Group)	0.5	-	Grass	2020	Yes
Bridgford Street Copse, East Bridgford	Southwell Diocese of the Cof E (East Bridgford Wildlife and Biodiversity Group)	0.5	-	Wood	2020	Yes
Bunny Old Wood	Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust	1.6	LWS	Wood	2019	Yes
Collington Common, West Bridgford	Rushcliffe Borough Council	1.4	-	Grass	Yes (ongoing)	Yes
Costock Pond	Costock Parish Council	0.8	-	Pond, Grass	2017	Yes
Cotgrave Country Park	Nottinghamshire County Council (Friends Group)	60	LWS	Grass Pond Lake Wood Reedbed	2004?	Yes
Dewberry Hill, Radcliffe-on-Trent	Nottinghamshire County Council (Radcliffe-on-Trent Parish Council / (Radcliffe on Trent Conservation Group))	8.6	LWS	Grass Wood	2015	Yes
Gotham Railway Path		0.9	-	Wood Grass	Not known	Yes
Gotham Sandbanks Nature Reserve		1.05	SSSI, LWS	Grass, Wood	Yes	Yes
Grantham Canal		25	SSSI, LWS	Pond Marsh Reedbed	Yes	Yes
Green Line, West Bridgford	Rushcliffe Borough Council	1.4	LWS	Grass, Wood	2018	Yes
Gresham Marsh, West Bridgford		8.8	LWS	Grass Marsh Reedbed	2018	Yes
Greythorne Dyke Open Space, West Bridgford	Rushcliffe Borough Council	2.67	-	Grass Marsh Wood Reedbed	In preparation	Yes
Holme Pierrepont Country Park		1.09	part LWS	Grass Wood Pond	Not known	Yes
Keyworth Burial Ground		1.05	-	Grass	Yes	Yes
Keyworth Meadows	Keyworth PC (Friends Group)	1.25	LWS, LNR	Grass Pond	Yes	Yes
Langar Community	Naturescape	4.7	-	Wood Reedbed	Yes	Yes

Total area - 506.86 hectares

Designation

• ELS - Entry level stweardship
• LWS - Local Wildlife Sites (previously called SINC - Site of Importance for Nature Conservation)
• LNR - Local Nature Reserve
• SSSI - Site of Special Scientific Interest

Habitats

• Grass - grassland habitat (including species rich)
• Wood - woodland (including scrub)
• Pond, Lake, Stream, River, Reedbed and Marsh as described

Appendix C - Voluntary practical nature conservation work carried out in Rushcliffe

Voluntary practical nature conservation work carried out in Rushcliffe

Site	Estimated Voluntary Work (man hours)
Bingham Linear Park	71
Bridgford Park / Bridge Park	Assumed 120
Bridgford St. Meadow, EB	Assumed 0
Bunny Wood	125
Collington Common	0
Costock Pond	Assumed 150
Cotgrave Country Park	470
Gotham Nature Reserve	70
Grantham Canal (inc. partners)	4888
Green Line – West Bridgford	49
Gresham Marsh	4
Grizzled Skipper Project (NBAG)	230
Himalayan Balsam Project (NBAG)	0
Holme Pierrepont Country Park	Assumed 0
Keyworth Meadow & Burial Ground	0
Langar Village Pond	Assumed 0
Meadow Covert	Assumed 0
Meadow Park - East Leake	702
Radcliffe Conservation Volunteers	Assumed 344.5
Rushcliffe Barn Owl Project	Assumed 180
Rushcliffe Country Park	4003
Saxondale Nature Reserve	Assumed 350
Sharphill Wood	385
Sheldon Field	Assumed 350
Skylarks	1550
Springdale Wood	Assumed 100
Stonepit Plantation	Assumed 0
Sutton Bonington Diamond Wood	Assumed 0
Sutton Bonington Meadow and Copse	Assumed 0
The Hook	463
Wilford Clay Pit	94
Willoughby Wood	Assumed 0
Wilwell Cutting	137

Total Hours: 14,835.5

Value for this work based on Volunteering England guidance 2014, equating to £18.69 per hour - £277,275.50

Please note:

1. These figures do not include educational work such as talks, open days, guided walks etc.
2. These figures are for known work – other unknown projects will have also occurred.
3. These figures are estimates of time volunteered.
4. Total hours for 2015 = 9788

Appendix D - Condition of SSSI’s in Rushcliffe (as assessed by Natural England)

description

SSSI Name	Main habitat	Unit Area (hectares)	Assessment at Mar 2010	Assessment at Mar 2017	Assessment at Mar 2020	Assessment at Mar 2022
Barnstone Railway Cutting	Calcareous grassland - lowland	1.52	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2006)	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2012)	Unfavourable no change (last assessed 2017)	Unfavourable no change (last assessed 2017)
Gotham Hill Pasture	Calcareous grassland - lowland	7.39	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2008)	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2015)	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2015)	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2015)
Gotham Hill Pasture	Calcareous grassland - lowland	1.05	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2008)	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2015)	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2015)	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2015)
Kinoulton Marsh and Canal	Neutral grassland - lowland	1.65	Favourable (last assessed 2009)	Favourable (last assessed 2009)	Favourable (last assessed 2009)	Favourable (last assessed 2009)
Kinoulton Marsh and Canal	Standing open water and canals	0.95	Unfavourable no change (last assessed 2009)	Unfavourable no change (last assessed 2009)	Unfavourable no change (last assessed 2009)	Unfavourable no change (last assessed 2009)
Normanton Pastures	Neutral grassland - lowland	9.51	Unfavourable no change (last assessed 2009)	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2014)	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2014)	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2014)
Normanton Pastures	Neutral grassland - lowland	7.04	Unfavourable no change (last assessed 2005)	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2014)	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2014)	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2014)
Orston Plaster Pits	Neutral grassland - lowland	1.11	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2008)	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2010)	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2010)	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2010)
Orston Plaster Pits	Calcareous grassland - lowland	3.54	Favourable (last assessed 2007)	Favourable (last assessed 2007)	Favourable (last assessed 2007)	Favourable (last assessed 2007)
Orston Plaster Pits	Broadleaved, mixed and yew woodland - lowland	0.51	Favourable (last assessed 2007)	-	-	-
Orston Plaster Pits	Fen, marsh and swamp	0.54	Favourable (last assessed 2007)	-	-	-
Rushcliffe Golf Course	Calcareous grassland - lowland	13.87	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2009)	Unfavourable no change (last assessed 2016)	Unfavourable no change (last assessed 2016)	Unfavourable no change (last assessed 2016)
Rushcliffe Golf Course	Broadleaved, mixed and yew woodland - lowland	5.62	Favourable (last assessed 2009)	Unfavourable no change (last assessed 2016)	Unfavourable no change (last assessed 2016)	Unfavourable no change (last assessed 2016)
Wilford Claypits	Calcareous grassland - lowland	1.42	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2007)	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2011)	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2011)	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2011)
Wilford Claypits	Neutral grassland - lowland	0.68	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2007)	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2011)	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2011)	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2011)
Wilford Claypits	Fen, marsh and swamp	0.08	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2007)	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2011)	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2011)	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2011)
Wilwell Cutting	Broadleaved, mixed and yew woodland - lowland	2.14	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2006)	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2015)	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2015)	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2015)
Wilwell Cutting	Neutral grassland - lowland	4.24	Favourable (last assessed 2006)	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2015)	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2015)	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2015)
Wilwell Cutting	Standing open water and canals	0.97	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2006)	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2015)	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2015)	Unfavourable recovering (last assessed 2015)
Number of units in favourable condition	-	-	6 out of 19	2 out of 17	2 out of 17	2 out of 17

For further details check Designated Sites - Natural England

Appendix E - Barn Owl Results

description

Year	Number of boxes at start of year (available for breeding)	Number of boxes used for breeding	Breeding totals (no. of young birds ringed)	3 year running average of young
2000	38	2	-	-
2001	62	2	-	-
2002	88	4	16	9
2003	101	9	35	20
2004	112	10	25	25
2005	120	18	58	39
2010	165	29	51	63
2015	160	29	47	82
2016	180	40	106	112
2017	178	50	102	85
2018	180	50	82	97
2019	180	46	126	103
2020	Not known	Not known	11	73
2021	172	36	94	77

Figures provided by Rushcliffe Barn Owl Project, a project of Nottinghamshire Birdwatchers that aims to conserve and increase the population of barn owls in Rushcliffe and surrounding areas (see Rushcliffe Barn Owls)

Appendix F - Access to Nature

Parishes / WB wards without designated Local Wildlife Sites (LWS) - Aslockton; Hawksworth; Newton; Scarrington, Shelton; Sibthorpe; Thoroton and Tollerton

Parishes with publicly accessible nature reserves or public open space managed for wildlife

Parish	Accessible Natural Green Space
Bingham	Bingham Linear Park
Bunny	Bunny Old Wood
Car Colston	Large Green
Colston Bassett	Grantham Canal
Costock	Costock Pond
Cotgrave	Cotgrave Country Park and Grantham Canal
Cropwell Bishop	Grantham Canal
Cropwell Butler	Grantham Canal, Sheldon Field
East Bridgford	Springdale Wood
East Leake	Meadow Park and Manor Farm Animal Sanctuary
Gamston	Grantham Canal
Gotham	Gotham Nature Reserve and Gotham Railway Walk
Hickling	Grantham Canal
Holme Pierrepont and Gamston	Holme Pierrepont Country Park, Grantham Canal, Skylarks, Trentside and Pinders Pond
Keyworth	Keyworth Meadow Nature Reserve, Keyworth Burial Ground
Kinoulton	Grantham Canal
Langar cum Barnstone	Naturescape, Langar Village Pond
Orston	Orston Millennium Green
Owthorpe	Grantham Canal
Radcliffe-on-Trent	Dewberry Hill, The Lilly Ponds, The Cliff Top Walk
Rempstone	Open Space
Ruddington	Rushcliffe Country Park
Saxondale	Upper Saxondale Community Nature Reserve
Sutton Bonington	Sutton Bonington Coppice and Meadow, Sutton Bonington Diamond Woods
Upper Broughton	Top/Daffodil Green
Whatton in the Vale	Queens Wood, Whatton
Willoughby-on-the-Wolds	Willoughby Wood
West Bridgford Wards	-
Abbey	Grantham Canal, Abbey Park
Compton Acres	Collington Common, Gresham Marsh, Greythorne Dyke, Lyme Park, Trentside, Compton Acres open space, Wilford Claypits and Wilford Field
Edwalton	Sharphill Wood, Meadow Covert
Gamston South	Grantham Canal
Ladybay	The Hook and Grantham Canal
Lutterell	Wilford Cemetery
Musters	The Green Line
Trent Bridge	Grantham Canal

Out of 56 parishes and 8 West Bridgford wards, 34 have accessible natural green space (including all West Bridgford wards).

Parishes without accessible natural green space are:

• Aslockton;
• Barton in Fabis,
• Bradmore;
• Clipstone on the Wolds;
• Elton on the Hill;
• Flawborough;
• Flintham;
• Granby cum Sutton;
• Hawksworth;
• Kingston on Soar;
• Kneeton;
• Newton;
• Normanton on Soar;
• Normanton on the Wolds;
• Ratcliffe on Soar;
  Scarrington;
• Screveton;
• Shelford;
• Shelton;
• Sibthorpe;
• Stanford-on-Soar;
• Stanton-on-the-Wolds;
• Thoroton;
• Thrumpton;
• Tithby and Wiverton;
• Tollerton;
• West Leake;
• Widmerpool;
• Wysall and Thorpe-in-the-Glebe

All areas have at least some public footpath networks although the amount varies.

Appendix G - Progress report for the Nature Conservation Strategy 2021 - 2025

Progress report for the Nature Conservation Strategy 2021 - 2025

Actions	Activity During 2021	Status
1a. Continue using the BOM Focal Areas to target action for landscape scale nature conservation projects	Cotgrave Wood Focal Area has continued to be surveyed.	In progress
1b. Seek opportunities for delivery of aspirational large-scale projects	Skylarks Nature Reserve continues to be developed by NWT. The development of Edwalton Community Park has continued. Planning gain sites at Bingham (Roman Quarter) and Fairham have begun development.	In progress
1c. Provide advice and support to organisations whose land holdings or interests have a significant role in nature conservation in Rushcliffe	The RNCSIG has continued to be represented on the Grantham Canal Partnership Environmental Sub-group and Notts BAG	In progress
1d. Support the Nature Recovery Network plans for Rushcliffe and the county	Partners have developed a framework for the development of the Nottinghamshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy	In progress
2a. Seek to ensure that all nature reserves have a current Management Plans	Management plans have been updated for Springdale Wood, East Bridgford and Sutton Bonington Spinney and Meadow.	In progress
2b. Seek to ensure that all nature reserves have sufficient resources available to deliver the management plan and assist with provision of resources	Five applications to the Rushcliffe Biodiversity Support grant were paid during 2021, totalling a value of £2350. Volunteering continues to be promoted, particularly via NWT Skylarks Nature Reserve and NWT South Notts Local Group programme, the Friends of Rushcliffe Country Park newsletter and social media produced by ‘friends of’ groups RBC, NBAG and NWT. COVID restricted activities that could be carried out	In progress
2c. Encouraging local community involvement in the management of nature reserves	COVID restrictions prevented many activities from going ahead however seven walks events were held by NWT across the borough, at six sites. A talks program continued online, providing seven talks. Nine activity sessions were run (partly online) with seven schools / youth organisations, engaging with 325 children	In progress
3a. Promoting the sympathetic protection and management of Local Wildlife Sites (LWS)	No action taken during 2021.	Not started
3b. Develop sympathetic farming management practices and agri-environment schemes	Advice was delivered to 13 external landowners / interested bodies	In progress
3c. Encouraging wildlife friendly management of buildings, corporate landscaping, public open space, school grounds and private gardens	Partners continue to work to support community groups working on the Grantham Canal NBAG have continued to work with Great Central Railway through the Grizzled Skipper project. The partnership helped provided a woodland training course at Cotgrave Forest NWT have provided advice too 14 organisations and individuals	In progress
3d. Supporting programs for national priority species and habitats and Nottinghamshire Biodiversity Action Plan Priority species and habitats	Funding has supported LBAP target habitats (see Appendix A)	In progress
3e. Promoting the management of Notified Road Verges and to maintain and create habitats alongside our transport corridors	Discussions have been ongoing with Nottinghamshire County Council / VIA East Midlands Ltd	In progress
3f. Protect enhance and expand appropriate tree and woodland cover and access	958 trees and shrubs were planted, and 1200 trees were supplied to the public in 2021/22	In progress
3g. Support projects that benefit our freshwater environment	No progress has been made in 2021	Not started
4a. Work in partnership with the Records Centre and support monitoring of the Local Wildlife Sites network	Partners continue to support this work through membership of the Nottinghamshire Ecological and Geological Data Partnership (NEGDP) and its sub committees.	In progress
4b. Support species survey programmes and local initiatives to record wildlife and submission of records	Survey work was carried out by member groups in 2021, but no cross-organisation surveys were completed.	In progress
4c. Support Notts BAG and reporting against LBAP targets	Funding has supported LBAP target habitats (see Appendix A)	In progress
5a. Promote the work of local nature groups and issues	The NWT continues to support local groups through the SLA, however the 2021 program of activities were limited due to Covid restrictions, but still included 2 talks to community organisations via zoom, 6 online South Notts Group events and 7 walks and talks. Groups and local issues are promoted via the Facebook page and other media outlets. Training was limited to 2 site specific training events	In progress
5b. Extending wildlife education opportunities	Education activity provided by partners has included 5 activity sessions run by NWT, with 4 schools, engaging with 320 children, plus activities run for 55 members of uniformed youth organisation. Wildlife Watch continues to run at Rushcliffe Country Park and Forest Schools operate in Sharphill Wood, Edwalton; Meadow Covert, Edwalton and Meadow Park, East Leake, other private forest schools also operate in the Rushcliffe area.	In progress
5c. Promoting contacts amongst groups and organisations	The partnership operates Facebook and Twitter feeds, sharing feeds from local groups and organisations.	In progress
5d. Promoting access to wildlife and countryside	Access continues to be promoted through the network of publicly accessible nature reserves managed by partners, events and activities (see 2c above) run by partners.	In progress
6a. Ensure that local planning policies relate to the NPPF mitigation hierarchy	Partners have commented on planning applications in 2021. Greater Nottingham BGI strategy consultation responded to by partners	In progress
6b. Ensuring new BGI benefits people and wildlife and meets NE and WT guidelines	Greater Nottingham BGI strategy consultation responded to by partners	In progress
6c. Use Hedgerow Regulations and TPOs to help protect important features	17 Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs)were made in 2021. Currently there are 321 TPOs (covering from individual trees to groups of trees and woodlands, therefore more than 321 trees are covered by TPOs). This has increased from 261 in 2015.	In progress
6d. Reduce pollution; seek good ecological status for rivers; and mitigate and adapt to climate change	Partners continue to develop climate change policies and actions. No specific river or pollution actions have been undertaken by partners in the last 12 months.	In progress
6e. Seeking to influence Regional, National and European decision making	Responses made by partners to consultations on Biodiversity Net Gain and other appropriate consultations	In progress
6f. Promoting the use of native local provenance planting	No specific action taken during 2021.	Not started
7a. Continue support for the RNCSIG	Membership of the partnership remains constant, with partners contributing to the strategy and actions. An SLA between RBC and NWT continues. Financial support continues to be provided by RBC	In progress
7b. Produce an annual report	No report was produced for 2020 due to COVID-19 impacting on activity	Not started
7d. Reviewing the strategy during 2025, or sooner	To be reviewed in 2025	Not started

 

Appendix H - Nature Conservation Projects and Activities in Rushcliffe

Ongoing Activities (of which we are aware) (27) (items in bold pre date start of the Nature Conservation Strategy in 2003). See also the list of current sites in Appendix B

Wildlife Projects (16)

• Badger edge vaccination scheme –BEVS (NWT)
• Cotgrave Focal Area (RNCSIG)
• Blue Butterfly Scheme (NWT)
• Bird Bed & Breakfast Scheme (NWT)
• Cotgrave Community Orchard and Wildflower Meadow (CTC)
• Grantham Canal Azolla Control (CRT (previously BW) / NBAG / NE)
• Grizzled Skipper Project (NCC / Butterfly Conservation / NBAG)
• Himalayan Balsam Project (NBAG)
• Radcliffe on Trent Conservation Volunteers (RoT PC / Vols)
• River Soar Floating Pennywort Control (EA / CRT)
• Rushcliffe Barn Owl Project (SNB)
• Silver Seal Mine management (NCC / NWT +)
• South Notts Bird Ringers – SNB (Vols)
• Swift & Swallow Project (Vols)
• Trentside Fields, Adboulton, riverside management (RBC / NWT, Trent Sailing Club / FroTH)
• ‘Wetland for All’ project (NWT)

Wildlife Activities (11)

• Cotgrave U3A Birdwatching Group (Vols)
• Forest Schools at Sharphill Wood and Meadow Park, East Leake (Vols / Nurseries / Schools)
• Grantham Canal Environmental Sub Group (CRT / Grantham Canal Partnership)
• Rushcliffe Nature Conservation Forum (RNCSIG)
• Rushcliffe Wildlife Watch Group (Vols/NWT)
• Rushcliffe Wildlife Web Site (Vols)
• School Wildlife Education Visits (NWT)
• Soar Valley U3A Nature & Bird Groups (Vols)
• South Notts Local Group (Walks, talks, summer fetes, web site etc.) (Vols/NWT)
• West Bridgford U3A Bird Group (Vols)
• Wildlife Training Programme (RNCSIG)

Appendix I - Biodiversity Opportunity Mapping Project

The Biodiversity Opportunity Mapping exercise (completed in 2015) covered the whole of the Borough; it highlighted the important wildlife sites in Rushcliffe and identified potential opportunities for biodiversity improvements. This looked at our local grassland,
woodland and wetland habitats in terms of opportunities for making them Better, Bigger and more Connected.

The maps show that there are areas where existing habitats and associated opportunities are concentrated, in these areas there are substantial opportunities in both the short and long term to enhance and expand these habitats, to buffer them and to link them up to create a stronger habitat network across the landscape. 

These Focal Areas are shown on the enclosed map:

• Cotgrave Forest
• East Leake and Stanford Hall
• Fairham
• Gotham Hills, West Leake and Bunny Ridge Line
• Smite
• Soar
• South Rushcliffe Pondscape
• Trent Lady Bay to Stoke Bardolph
• Trent Wilford to Thrumpton

With thanks to everyone who has helped compile the data for this report, especially Gordon Dyne (NWT Southern Member Group) and Ben Driver (Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust).

RNCSIG Facebook

Nature Conservation - Rushcliffe Borough Council

Notts BAG

South Notts Wildlife

Nottinghamshire Wildlife