Biodiversity
Action
Plan
Priority habitats and nature networks
Our approach to priority habitats has been influenced by Making Space for Nature (Lawton 2010) which calls for ‘more, bigger, better and more joined-up’ places for nature.
The starting point in our Biodiversity Action Plan is to know what we have got – the extent, condition and locations of priority habitats.
We then need to protect these sites and through conservation management bring them into better condition.
AND we also need to extend what we have, create new areas of priority habitat, and use corridors of connecting habitat to link priority habitat sites in a network across the borough and beyond.
This helps the movement of wildlife species to avoid threats, extend their range, and maintain or increase their numbers.
Our analysis needs to indicate where appropriate conditions exist to support habitat creation and/or restoration and highlight where habitat conservation priorities may be targeted.
Information to help achieve these objectives includes:
- Records of species distribution held by the Barnsley Biological Record Centre and the National Biodiversity Network Atlas.
- Reports on Local Wildlife Sites and SSSI citations.
- Records collated for the assessment of sites for SSSI status.
- Areas of search to designate further Local Wildlife Sites.
- Ancient woodland inventory maps.
- Phase 1 habitat maps of the entire borough at field level.
- Biodiversity opportunity maps for the Dearne Valley NIA.
- UKHab survey data, and both …
- Natural Capital maps including those from UKCEH (link)
- Habitat maps in the Multi-Agency Geographic Information for the Countryside (MAGIC) managed by Natural England. [See sidebar*]
Local examples of this approach include projects within the NIA, the work of the RSPB and the Garganey Trust in the lower Dearne Valley, and continued work by Yorkshire Wildlife Trust with Barnsley Council. The Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust has a similar approach in a project for the river Don Valley reaching to the border with Barnsley.
South Yorkshire Nature Partnership is taking a Nature Recovery Network forward on a wider scale including consideration of Natural Capital.
The Environment Act 2021 requires local planning authorities to require all new developments to demonstrate a 10% net gain in biodiversity and take into account Local Nature Recovery Strategies.
*Nature Recovery Network. A key action in the Government’s 25 Year Environmental Plan (2018) is establishing a Nature Recovery Network. This is to protect and restore wildlife, as well as providing greater public enjoyment of the countryside; increased carbon capture; and improvements in water quality and flood management.
*Nature Networks. Natural England published guidance in March 2020 on the design of nature networks and evidence for their implementation. Priority actions include
- improve core wildlife sites
- increase the size of core sites
- increase the number of core sites
- improve ‘permeability’ of the surrounding landscape for the movement of wildlife
- create corridors of connecting habitat.
*MAGIC information on potential habitat creation, restoration, and enhancement.
In addition to the mapping information on Priority (primary) habitats and Associated habitats, the MAGIC system identifies places where ‘Habitat Creation or Restoration’ is underway and ‘Restorable Habitat', where degraded habitat or fragments of the primary habitat exist and where restoration to priority habitat may be possible.
It also identifies Network Enhancement and Expansion Zones near existing priority habitat
Network Enhancement Zones identify land that may be suitable for (1) habitat re-creation of the nearby habitat or for (2) the creation of other types of habitat, enhancement of land management and suitable green infrastructure where habitat re-creation is not possible.
Network Expansion Zones identify land close to Network Enhancement Zones that is more likely to be suitable for particular habitat creation and where possible locations for connecting and linking up networks across a landscape may be identified.
Fragmentation Action Zones. The mapping also identifies land immediately adjoining existing habitat patches where habitat creation is likely to help reduce the effects of habitat fragmentation.
Habitat Networks