Contents
Introduction
Key Actions for 2023 / 2024
Management
Habitats and Species
Environmental Pressures and Mitigation Measures
Sustainable Development
Education and Engagement
Download a PDF Version of the
Biodiversity Action Plan
(PDF)
[428KB]
In 2022, South Ribble Borough Council adopted a Biodiversity Strategy, pledging to restore, conserve and enhance the biodiversity in the Borough.
This Action Plan sets out the actions that will be taken over the next 5 years.
Strategy Vision - For a Borough where biodiversity is bigger, better and more joined up. With networks of accessible, natural greenspace, linking areas of habitat that are positively managed for wildlife, biodiversity gains, as well as resident enjoyment and wellbeing.
Strategy Aims - To ensure that South Ribble Borough Council's responsibilities to restore, conserve and enhance biodiversity is integrated into the work of all departments and there is a clear understanding of biodiversity and how it relates to decision making. That residents and businesses benefit from maintaining and improving a healthy green environment.
Strategy Objectives -
- To act as a responsible landowner and land manager and conserve and enhance biodiversity.
- To highlight priority habitats and species that have value locally and nationally
- To highlight threats and issues that may adversely impact priority habitats and species
- To maintain, restore and create habitat connectivity
- To share good practice and develop partnerships
- To encourage education and community action / involvement
- To instigate a cross department ethos that will inform decisions
- To ensure development does not negatively impact on existing biodiversity across the Borough and where possible actively improves it.
This Action Plan details those actions required to be taken across the Borough but also the actions that it intends to take as an organisation and local employer.
The Council has 3 spheres of influence within the Borough
Exemplar - To set our own high standards and be a model of good practice for the Borough.
Enabler - To play our part in partnership working, sharing responsibility, facilitating, coordinating, and promoting projects.
Encourager - To provide information, support and introductions that will make a positive contribution to our response to the biodiversity and climate emergency.
In implementing our actions, we are seeking to act as a community leader, setting high standards and working collaboratively to show the changes and improvements that can be achieved, so that we are able to help others across the borough do the same.
Due to the seasonal nature of some of the work required in this action plan, even short-term targets may take two years to complete and longer than that for habitats to become established and develop to their full potential. The impacts of weather and associated ground conditions may further hamper progress, but this is outside of the control of those delivering on actions.
Some of the actions will require a cultural and behavioural change inside South Ribble to alter long established practices. It may also require residents to change their perspective on amended maintenance regimes where parks and open spaces no longer look as neat and tidy as they once did. Engagement and education are key to this being delivered successfully.
There will be an annual updated on progress taken to Council each summer alongside the Climate and Air Quality reports. It is noted that this Action Plan is very comprehensive and that it cannot all be achieved and reported on every year. For this reason, 10 key actions will be identified for each year and these will form the basis of the annual report on progress. The full Action Plan will be reviewed every four years.
This Action Plan links and crosses over with the existing
Climate Emergency Action Plan
(PDF)
[654KB]
and
Air Quality Action Plan
(PDF)
[1MB]
. In time they will all be incorporated in to one single Action Plan.
1. To comply with national directives to imbed Biodiversity Net Gain into the Planning system, scheduled to commence in November 2023
2. Identify Council owned sites which are appropriate for registering for developer contributions for Biodiversity Net Gain.
3. To comply with our role as a Supporting Authority and support Lancashire County Council as the Responsible Authority, in the development of the Lancashire Local Nature Recovery Strategy
4. To undertake a green corridors mapping exercise to identify opportunities to create and enhance habitats across the Borough
5. To review our mowing schedule to incorporate low intervention areas and provide better habitat for wildlife
6. To create a work programme for ponds on a 5- to 10-year management cycle
7. To ensure South Ribble and its suppliers only use peat free alternatives for compost
8. To promote awareness and understanding of the park's wildlife and associated management in South Ribble using engagement, education, signage and comms
9. To deliver the corporate targets for tree planting in the borough by developing partnerships with landowners and other organisations
10. To continue to support and grow our own Friends Groups by expanding our programme of conservation volunteering opportunities and to help facilitate community groups already committed to biodiversity and climate projects
11. Continue to engage with residents and park users to tackle environmental crimes such as litter, dog fouling and fly tipping
Outcomes | Measures, rationale and timescales | Partners |
Introduce a best practice approach to management for biodiversity on South Ribble Borough Council owned land | To adapt and regularly review existing park management plans and maintenance schedules to promote biodiversity friendly management practices on Council owned open spaces and parks | Short | To create biodiversity management plans for groups of similar smaller parks | Medium | To identify areas and actions where parks and open spaces can be enhanced through habitat creation, enhancement and management and the creation of wildlife corridors and steppingstones | Short | To undertake management / maintenance work during the correct times of the year and with the least disturbance to habitat and wildlife | Annually | To ensure that there is a net gain of habitat in the Borough | Short |
| Lancashire County Council Neighbouring authorities Natural England Defra Other wildlife organisations and groups Neighbourhood Services Parks |
Place South Ribble in a wider conservation context | To work with other organisations and groups to develop a large-scale regional approach to conservation including joint resources and collaborative working on larger cross border projects, for example through the Lancashire Nature Partnership | Medium | To deliver our Biodiversity Duty as per the NERC Act 2006 and Environment Act 2021 and report on compliance | Annually | To link with neighbouring Boroughs and Lancashire County Council to increase connectivity, allowing wildlife to expand their ranges | Medium | To comply with our role as a Supporting Authority and support the development of the Lancashire Local Nature Recovery Strategy | Short | To comply with Biodiversity Net Gain in the planning system to enhance biodiversity through developments in the Borough | Short | To aim to achieve a biodiversity net gain for internal projects that do not require planning consent | Long | To embed biodiversity and climate in other relevant Council Strategies and Policies | Medium |
| Lancashire County Council Neighbouring authorities Natural England Defra Other wildlife organisations and groups Neighbourhood Services Parks |
Data collection and mapping to benefit biodiversity | To continue to update baseline data maps to keep accurate records of biodiversity in the Borough. | Medium | To undertake a green corridors mapping exercise to identify opportunities to create and enhance habitats across the Borough | Short | To support biodiversity surveying by volunteers and wildlife groups to maintain up to date information | Medium | To continue with and expand biodiversity data sharing with LERN and other partners | Short |
| Lancashire Environmental Records Network (LERN) |
Opportunities for funding and resourcing our conservation work | To investigate registering appropriate pieces of SRBC land for Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), and potentially creating a habitat bank, as a way of funding creation, enhancement and management of biodiversity improvement works. | Short | To secure internal and/or external funding to expand on the successful tree giveaways to residents and landowners | Medium | To source resources to develop, support and expand opportunities for volunteering and community groups in the Borough | Medium | To continue to apply for and support community groups to apply for external funding for conservation and climate projects | Annually | To manage our actions to have the most impact with the resources available. | Annually |
| Planning Volunteer and Community Groups Neighbourhood Services Parks |
Opportunities for training our staff and volunteers | To continuously improving knowledge of the environment and stay up to date with international, national and regional climate and conservation policy and development | Annually | To develop staff training opportunities to embed conservation practices into our everyday work | Medium | To develop a volunteer training programme around conservation and climate | Medium | To develop opportunities for staff to take part in practical climate and conservation action by volunteering | Medium |
| SRBC |
To continuously monitor, review and adapt | To monitor and review the Action Plan every 4 years in line with international, national, regional and local developments | Long | To report on the key actions and achievements as part of the annual report to full Council | Short | To set local targets for biodiversity improvements linking in to regional, national and international projects and opportunities | Medium | To adjust, adapt and support the new opportunities that will arise form national developments and schemes such as Biodiversity Net Gain, Environmental Land Management and Local Nature Recovery Strategies | Medium | To monitor habitat improvement projects and use the findings to adapt and amend our management plans and maintenance schedules as necessary | Medium |
| SRBC |
Outcomes | Measures, rationale and timescales | Partners |
The creation of habitats that are bigger, better and more joined up, across the Borough and beyond. | To create specific habitat plans to restore, maintain and enhance habitat types on our estate | Medium | To create a work programme for specific habitat types on a 5- to 10-year management cycle | Short | To ensure our work enables the conservation and expansion of key species populations | Annually | To undertake a series of surveys and audits of our sites to identify species and habitats that would benefit from improved or amended management practices in conjunction with plans | Medium | To ensure the correct management of our land to maintain and enhance its biodiversity value - right plant, right place | Annually |
| Volunteers Wildlife Groups Neighbourhood Services Parks |
Trees, Woodlands and Orchards | To encourage species rich, structurally diverse woodlands on our estate and to encourage others to do the same by | Annually | Underplanting existing woodlands where required | | Attention is given to field and shrub layers of woodlands | | Introducing management techniques such as coppicing where appropriate | | Retaining brash and logs from tree works as habitat piles or dead hedges | | Retaining standing and fallen deadwood where it is safe to do so | | To use planting and natural regeneration schemes and strategic Biodiversity Net Gain to link up existing woodland habitats, creating corridors and steppingstones for wildlife | Annually | To link in with existing and developing woodland creation opportunities across the Borough | Medium | To continue to monitor Ash Dieback on our estate and manage in line with national policy | Annually | To encourage the creation of orchards and wet woodland | Medium |
| Neighbourhood Services Parks |
Hedgerows | To encourage species rich hedgerows on our estate and to encourage others to do the same by | Annually | allowing hedge bases to thicken to increases the biodiversity value | | changing management practices to bring hedgerows into favourable condition, including the use of hedge laying over mechanical cutting | | reducing the frequency of cuts on some hedgerows | | cutting hedgerows as late as possible to allow birds access to fruits and berries through autumn and winter | | gapping up our existing hedgerows | | Planting new hedges to create wildlife corridors to link areas of habitat in line with plans (eg BNG) | Medium | Encouraging time sensitive management of hedgerows to avoid breeding seasons | Annually |
| Neighbourhood Services |
Ponds | To encourage a mosaic of species rich ponds on our estate and encourage others to do the same by ensuring all ponds have | Annually | a diversity of marginal and aquatic plants, with submergent, emergent and floating vegetation | | areas of open water | | air flow and light to the water surface to maintain oxygen levels | | reduced shading, especially on the south side | | variations in depth | | egg laying plants for newts | | To establish and enhance 3-meter-wide buffer areas around priority wildlife ponds | Short | To continue to work in partnership to create, enhance and restore ponds across the Borough | Short | To create a 5- to 10-year pond survey and maintenance programme with associated budget to improve the condition of our ponds | Short | To increase the area of reed beds in the borough e.g. through Biodiversity Net Gain | Long | To manage selective ponds as an educational resource | Short | To continue to educate and engage park users around the issues of feeding the ducks | Medium | To continue to undertake Great Crested Newt surveys on an annual basis | Annually | To develop bog gardens in areas adjacent to existing ponds, in failed or failing ponds or in areas where it is not safe to have areas of open water | Long |
| Lancashire Wildlife Trust Natural England Neighbourhood Services Parks |
Rivers and Streams | To work at a river catchment level with appropriate partners and landowners on conservation projects including the protection of riverbanks and floodplains, coastal floodplains and grazing marsh, intertidal mudflats and coastal saltmarsh habitats | Long | To maintain and improve water quality of streams and rivers by having regard for management practices in their vicinity | Annually | To develop schemes for wetland creation and river restoration | Medium | To establish and enhance 3 - 5m wide buffers along rivers and streams where possible. | Short |
| River Ribble Trust Environment Agency LCC CSF Neighbourhood Services |
Grasslands | To ensure we have structurally diverse, species rich grasslands supporting pollinators and other invertebrates by | Annually | ensuring mowing and grazing regimes are in synch with the seasons | | controlling competitive grasses and other species - spot treatment of some species that threaten grassland habitats may be required | | ensuring that there is a diverse sward structures and successional areas | | cutting areas on rotation to provide structure and variety for species, prolonging the availability of pollen and nectar and aesthetic value for park users | | ensuring appropriate seed mixes are used for repair of damage or areas in poor condition, including yellow rattle | | collecting arisings on all our wildflower meadows | | ensuring areas of tussocky grass are retained for overwintering invertebrates | | To instigate differential mowing regimes around some of our amenity grasslands | Short | To attempt to create new native wildflower meadows on amenity grassland where appropriate | Medium | To ensure that Urban Flower Meadows are not planted where they could cause detriment to native species and habitats | Short |
| Neighbourhood Services Parks |
Roadside Verges | To work with Lancashire County Council on reducing and amending cutting regimes for roadside verges where it is safe to do so, to encourage a network of wildlife corridors and enhance habitat connectivity | Medium |
| LCC Neighbourhood Services |
Peat | To work in partnership with other bodies and landowners to ensure the protection and restoration of peat bogs in the borough and investigate income opportunities from paludiculture (wetter farming) | Long | To ensure South Ribble and its suppliers only use peat free alternatives for compost | Annually |
| Various |
Arable Field Margins | To work with landowners and partners to increase the biodiversity value and connectivity of the arable field margins in the borough | Long |
| NFU Landowners |
Gardens, cemeteries, allotments and buildings | To work with residents, businesses and landowners to encourage a mosaic of different habitat types across the borough, that provide important food and nectar sources to support our wildlife | Medium | To encourage the ethos of leaving space for nature | Medium | To encourage the inclusion of wildlife refuges in buildings and structures | Medium |
| Residents Landowners Businesses SRBC |
Artificial refuges | To encourage the installation of artificial wildlife refuges where appropriate to enhance what is naturally available to our wildlife, including | Annually | Hibernaculum | | Hedgehog highways | | Bird and bat boxes | | Bee / insect boxes | | Log / stone piles | | Deadwood | | Wildlife bridges and tunnels | | Green walls and green roofs | |
| Planning Resident Landowners Businesses Neighbourhood Services |
Create some low management intervention areas | To encourage biological diversity in our parks and open spaces by altering management schedules to introduce | Annually | unmanaged strips of grass - where reduced frequency mowing can help protect flowering plants and longer swards provide structure / shelter for invertebrates and small mammals | | a mosaic of habitats to provide a wide range of species with a wide range of habitats to enable them to complete their lifecycles | | wilder areas | | nettle beds and bramble patches | | areas of bare earth | | To encourage a mindset of reducing access to identified areas of land at certain times of the year to protect species and habitats | Medium | To install information signs to explain these changes | Short |
| Neighbourhood Services Parks |
Planting schemes | To encourage the use of locally abundant, native species in planting schemes | Annually | To ensure the protection of existing habitats by following a right plant, right place ethos | Annually | To consider food and nectar sources and shelter in planting scheme development | Annually | To ensure sensitive time management of planting for plants and wildlife | Annually | To replace annual planting with more sustainable perennial schemes | Medium |
| Neighbourhood Services Parks |
Protected species | To seek to increase populations of protected species by | Annually | positive habitat management to create viable habitat for target species | | sensitive maintenance regimes and timings | | creation of refuges where appropriate | | improving ecological connectivity via the creation of corridors and stepping-stones to allow populations to expand naturally | | managing public access to protect sensitive habitat and species | | enhancement of existing habitats | | creation of new habitat where the opportunity exists or becomes available | | use of wildlife sensitive lighting schemes to remove barriers to the movement of nocturnal species | | To promote awareness and understanding of the park's wildlife and associated management | Annually | To create a pollinator pledge to increase the diversity and numbers of pollinating insects in the Borough | Medium |
| Neighbourhood Services Parks |
Outcomes | Measures, rationale and timescales | Partners |
Designated sites, priority habitats and green belt land | To work collaboratively to ensure that all internationally, nationally and locally designated sites are managed in a positive way | Annually | To have due regard for irreplaceable and priority habitats of strategic significance and distinctiveness | Annually | To investigate the potential of increasing the number of our sites with local or national designations | Long | To look for opportunities to restore, enhance and create habitats outside of designated wildlife sites | Long | To continue to maintain our sites to Green Flag standards | Annually |
| LCC Natural England Lancashire Nature Partnership SRBC |
Integrated biodiversity into wider sustainable development | To comply with our statutory roles and link biodiversity, Biodiversity Net Gain and Lancashire Local Nature Recovery Strategy details into wider corporate priorities and the new Local Plan | Short / Medium | Work with developers to add biodiversity value to sites using natural features and artificial refuges on all developments to ensure communities have access to wildlife rich green space | Short | To encourage the use of SUDs schemes, the removal of weirs and barriers in watercourses and the creation of swales and ponds | Medium | To ensure a net gain of habitat across the Borough | Annually |
| LCC Natural England Planning Parks |
Planning | To ensure that emerging Local Plan sets strong ambitious targets for improving biodiversity through development | Short | To ensure that biodiversity is a key consideration on all planning applications | Short | Planners to provide annual update on BNG for inclusion in the Climate Report to Council | Medium | To promote over 10% net gain on planning applications | Medium |
| Planning |
Businesses and landowner advice | To offer support for landowners wishing to enhance biodiversity on their land | Annually | To provide advice to businesses on how they can take positive action for biodiversity | Annually |
| |
Delivering social benefits | To maximise the contribution that biodiversity makes to the health and wellbeing of residents and economic prosperity of the borough | Medium | To improve social cohesion by removing barriers to participating in volunteering and engagement activities. | Medium | To provide opportunities for corporate engagement and volunteering opportunities that support local projects | Medium | To integrate biodiversity gain into our Procurement process and encourage contractors working on our property to do their bit for biodiversity | Medium |
| Investment and Skills Community groups Procurement |
National campaigns and lobbying | To stay up to date with national campaigns and lobbying for biodiversity | Annually | To implement new policy according to national guidelines | Annually |
| |
Transport | To consider where new roads will be located and whether they will be near any priority site and/or species | Annually | To incorporate wildlife tunnels and bridges into roads to prevent the fragmentation of habitat | Annually |
| Planning |
Outcomes | Measure and rationale | Partners |
Designated sites, priority habitats and green belt land | To work collaboratively to ensure that all internationally, nationally and locally designated sites are managed in a positive way | Annually | To have due regard for irreplaceable and priority habitats of strategic significance and distinctiveness | Annually | To investigate the potential of increasing the number of our sites with local or national designations | Long | To look for opportunities to restore, enhance and create habitats outside of designated wildlife sites | Long | To continue to maintain our sites to Green Flag standards | Annually |
| LCC Natural England Lancashire Nature Partnership SRBC |
Integrated biodiversity into wider sustainable development | To comply with our statutory roles and link biodiversity, Biodiversity Net Gain and Lancashire Local Nature Recovery Strategy details into wider corporate priorities and the new Local Plan | Short / Medium | Work with developers to add biodiversity value to sites using natural features and artificial refuges on all developments to ensure communities have access to wildlife rich green space | Short | To encourage the use of SUDs schemes, the removal of weirs and barriers in watercourses and the creation of swales and ponds | Medium | To ensure a net gain of habitat across the Borough | Annually |
| LCC Natural England Planning Parks |
Planning | To ensure that emerging Local Plan sets strong ambitious targets for improving biodiversity through development | Short | To ensure that biodiversity is a key consideration on all planning applications | Short | Planners to provide annual update on BNG for inclusion in the Climate Report to Council | Medium | To promote over 10% net gain on planning applications | Medium |
| Planning |
Businesses and landowner advice | To offer support for landowners wishing to enhance biodiversity on their land | Annually | To provide advice to businesses on how they can take positive action for biodiversity | Annually |
| |
Delivering social benefits | To maximise the contribution that biodiversity makes to the health and wellbeing of residents and economic prosperity of the borough | Medium | To improve social cohesion by removing barriers to participating in volunteering and engagement activities. | Medium | To provide opportunities for corporate engagement and volunteering opportunities that support local projects | Medium | To integrate biodiversity gain into our Procurement process and encourage contractors working on our property to do their bit for biodiversity | Medium |
| Investment and Skills Community groups Procurement |
National campaigns and lobbying | To stay up to date with national campaigns and lobbying for biodiversity | Annually | To implement new policy according to national guidelines | Annually |
| |
Transport | To consider where new roads will be located and whether they will be near any priority site and/or species | Annually | To incorporate wildlife tunnels and bridges into roads to prevent the fragmentation of habitat | Annually |
| Planning |
Outcomes | Measure, rationale and timescales | Partners |
Raise awareness of biodiversity in South Ribble and regionally | To encourage an ethos of caring for and about the natural diversity and uniqueness of the borough | Medium | To encourage public access to and engagement with nature by | Medium | promoting Citizen Science opportunities to residents, schools, volunteers and community groups such as RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch and Butterfly Conservation's Big Butterfly Count | Short | continuing to promote "What can I Do?" activities on our website | Medium | providing natural history themed walks and talks for volunteers and residents | Short | installing signs and information regarding to biodiversity improvements on our sites | |
| SRBC |
Working with the local community | We will continue to put people at the heart of our work on biodiversity, increasing awareness, understanding and enjoyment of the natural environment and delivering opportunities for people through education and volunteering by | Annually | continuing to support and grow our Friends Groups by expanding our programme of conservation volunteering opportunities | | continuing to support the activities School Eco Councils | | continuing to support environmental enhancements in communities | | continuing to work with businesses and landowners to add biodiversity value to their land | | To support and encourage the development of wildlife groups and activities in the Borough | Medium | To continue to support and help facilitate community groups committed to biodiversity and climate projects | Short | To develop a Social Prescribing offer that allows residents to connect with and value nature as a route to physical and mental wellbeing | Medium |
| SRBC |
Schools | To promote biodiversity as an environmental education resource | Annually | To work with schools to encourage participation in biodiversity initiatives / activities | Annually | To enable education visits to parks | Annually | To help develop and support the sustainability agenda in our schools | Annually | To support forest school programmes and development of wildlife areas or biodiversity improvements in school grounds | Annually | Provide educational visits and resources for use in schools | Annually |
| SRBC |
Collaboration | To continue to be a part of the Lancashire Local Nature Partnership and other climate and biodiversity partnerships | Annually | To continue to network and collaborate with partners, local and national wildlife and climate groups | Annually | Create links with voluntary, community and health groups to improve the health and wellbeing of residents | Medium | To bring conflicting interest groups together to encourage and foster understanding | |
| LCC LNP Wildlife Groups |
Abbreviations
LCC - Lancashire County Council
LNP - Lancashire Nature Partnership
BNG - Biodiversity Net Gain
LRNS - Local Nature Recovery Strategy
CSF - Catchment Sensitive Farming