Parkland, Wood Pasture & Veteran Trees: Key objectives

• Raise awareness of the importance of parkland, wood pasture and veteran trees for biodiversity as well as heritage and the landscape.
• Review extent and condition of parkland and wood pasture habitat in Barnsley, including surveys for selected sites.
• Collect and analyse records of populations and assemblages of wildlife species in parkland and wood pasture habitat.
• Protect additional historic parks, former parkland remnants and wood pasture sites through Local Wildlife Site designation.
• Promote conservation management of parkland and wood pasture sites, including renewing and extending wood pasture.

• Complete a register of ancient and other veteran trees in Barnsley and protect through TPOs or otherwise.
• Encourage owners of land with ancient and other veteran trees to conserve them, retaining dead wood, even if untidy.

Roles:

Landowners and managers:

• follow best practice in managing parkland and wood pasture
• protect and conserve veteran trees, wherever they are.

Natural England: administers stewardship funding schemes

Historic England:gives advice and provides grants for historic parklands.

Barnsley Council as planning authority:

• sets conditions in relevant planning applications to ensure that the biodiversity value of parklands and wood pasture is maintained and enhanced.
• Sets conditions to protect ancient and veteran trees in planning applications
• issues Tree Preservation Orders and designates Conservation Areas.

Voluntary groups and volunteers:

• help with parkland management and conservation;
• help with information about parkland, wood pasture and veteran trees and provide wildlife records to the Record Centre.

What has been done?

• Veteran tree surveys  carried out at Stainborough, Wortley & Cannon Hall.
• Restoration of park landscapes carried out at Bretton Park and Stainborough Park.
• Veteran trees survey Cannon Hall 2016.
• Conservation of Cannon Hall parkland, Parks for People project BMBC 2017-21.
• Management plans including biodiversity for key parkland sites including Stainborough (National Trust) and Cannon Hall (BMBC)

Proposed actions

• Maintain ancient/veteran trees inventory
• Campaign to identify, register, protect and conserve ancient/veteran trees . 2022-25
• Maintain inventories of parkland and wood pasture and promote their conservation
• LWS designation of more parkland sites and further TPOs for veteran trees 2022-25
• More parkland and wood pasture LWS in conservation management 2022-25.

Marking progress

• No reduction in extent of parkland and wood pasture habitat
• Parklands and wood pasture in positive conservation management
• Wood pasture created, extended or renewed.
• Ancient and other veteran trees identified
• Ancient and other veteran trees given protected status
• Ancient and other veteran trees managed and conserved.

Parkland & Wood-Pasture Actions