Traditional Orchard Habitat: Key objectives [see actions below]

• Raise awareness of the biodiversity value of Traditional Orchards.
• Review the extent and condition of Traditional Orchards in Barnsley
• Promote conservation management of Traditional Orchards in Barnsley
• Identify Traditional Orchard sites of high conservation value in Barnsley and propose designation as Local Wildlife Sites.
• Promote planting of new and extended Traditional Orchards, including as Community Orchards.
• Encourage conservation and planting of regional types of fruit trees in Barnsley in new and extended Traditional Orchards and as replacement trees in existing orchards.

Roles:

Land owners and managers:

• follow best practice in managing traditional orchards for wildlife
• restore traditional orchards and create traditional orchards where appropriate.

Natural England: administers stewardship grant schemes for woodland creation or improvement, tree health, or preparing woodland management plan.

Forestry Commission:

• licenses tree felling in agricultural and countryside settings.
• provides guidelines and sets conditions to protect biodiversity.

PTES:

• offers advice on traditional orchards and on setting up a community orchard,
• runs traditional orchard inventory
• provides grants

Barnsley Council as planning authority:

• sets conditions in planning applications for development and change of use
• issues Tree Preservation Orders.

Voluntary groups and volunteers:

• orchard management and planting
• collect information about condition of orchards and provide records of wildlife.

What has been done?

Older orchards

• Cannon Hall
• Wortley Hall: 17 different Yorkshire heritage apple varieties planted (2007)
  
  

New orchards created

• RSPB Old Moor
• RSPB Adwick (2017)

Marking progress:

• Traditional Orchard extent in Barnsley (sites & area)
• Traditional Orchards in conservation management (sites & area)
• Traditional Orchards in recovering or favourable condition (sites & area)
• Traditional Orchards / Community orchards created (sites & area)

New Community Orchards created

• Sanderson Gardens, Penistone (2015)
• YMCA Dearne Valley Country Park (2017)
• YWT / YMCA Fleets (2017)
• YMCA Allotment (2017)
• Oxspring (2017)
• Royds, Millhouse Green (2017)

Proposed actions

• Project to confirm locations and status of traditional orchards in Barnsley
• If appropriate, carry out LWS designation of identified Traditional Orchards
• Ongoing creation of new traditional orchards, including community orchards

Traditional Orchard Actions