Key objectives

• Raise awareness of the importance of managing amenity grassland, parks and urban green spaces to benefit biodiversity in Barnsley.
• Review the extent of amenity grassland managed for biodiversity.
• Promote amenity grassland management for biodiversity and increase the number of sites managed in this way.
• Use amenity grassland and green spaces managed appropriately to create links and wildlife corridors in urban and built-up areas.
• Collect and analyse records of populations and assemblages of wildlife species in amenity grasslands that have undergone positive changes in management.

Roles.

Barnsley Council, parish councils, schools, other estate managers:

• manage amenity grassland in parks, grounds, and urban green spaces to benefit biodiversity through
• minimising or eliminating use of fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides
• appropriate mowing regimes, and
• creation of some flower-rich areas

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust:

• manages certain amenity grasslands for Barnsley Council including Dearne Valley Country Park and Littleworth Park.
• gives advice on managing amenity grassland for the benefit of wildlife

Barnsley council as planning authority:

• assesses the need for open green space and opportunities for new provision
• ensures that developers where relevant commit to enhance biodiversity through appropriate management of green spaces

Voluntary groups and volunteers:

• help with improvements to amenity grasslands including meadow creation
• help provide  information about the condition of amenity grasslands and collect records of the wildlife there.

Several of the images in this section have been produced in the Dearne Valley NIA programme. Our thanks are due to the RSPB for much of the information provided.

Proposed actions

• Produce and implement management plans for additional parks and other green spaces to vary mowing regimes and create flower-rich areas. This includes:
• Conservation mowing regimes in identified areas of amenity grasslands
• Reduced and late cutting to allow longer grass and flowering plants to grow.
• Further flower-rich areas in amenity grasslands as appropriate.

What is being done

• BMBC changed the management regime of over 90 ha of grassland in the NIA
• Reduced mowing regime with late hay crop introduced at eg Inkerman’s field Darfield and Barnburgh.
• Seeding and plug planting for flower-rich grassland at eg Bolton Brickyard Ponds BMBC NIA 2013-15
• Wildflower grassland on TPT created by TPTcv volunteers.
• YWT management of identified amenity grassland incl. Dearne Valley Country Park and Littleworth Park, 2016-
• Former amenity grassland near Fleets changed to mowing regime to promote wildflowers and longer grass. YWT 2018-
• Wildflower meadow strips and revised grass management introduced at Cannon Hall as part of NLHF Parks for People. 2016-21

Marking Progress

• amenity grassland sites (no) managed to benefit biodiversity
• amenity grassland (ha) managed to benefit biodiversity
• amenity grassland sites (no) surveyed for biodiversity improvements

Amenity Grassland Action Plan