LPA: Westmorland and Furness Council
NCA: West Cumbria Coastal Plain
High Distinctiveness Units
42.09 HU of High Distinctiveness Open Mosaic
Local Context
Located on the island of South Walney, home to the Cumbria Wildlife Trust Nature Reserve, a former domestic waste landfill which was closed in 1990’s.
The site has been managed under an extant permit since closure, with some sheep grazing to manage the grass sward.
Access to the site for walkers is restricted by fencing and so the site does not contribute to the local community on the island.
The site lies adjacent to the Morecambe Bay Ramsar/SAC along its northern boundary and to the South Walney and Piel Channel Flats SSSI along the northern and western boundary.
Habitat
Comprising of a former capped landfill, the site currently consists of large swathes of modified grassland, indicative of high nutrient content within the upper soil horizon. Dense grassland and weeds dominate and create a generic sward with limited biodiversity potential. The land is grazed informally and so nutrients are maintained.
The restoration plan consists of stripping the nutrients through a process of soil inversion/importation to create nutrient poor soil conditions at surface. A series of ephemeral water scrapes and hollows will be created and the site pH balanced to create a range of soil conditions across the site. The site will then be planted to create a diverse range of early colonisation open mosaic habitats with the focus on habitat creation for invertebrates and insects to flourish.
A key element of open mosaic habitat is the placement of anthropogenic materials to provide cover and shade and so GEDG will utilise recycled aggregate to mimic the conditions which prevail on brownfield sites on which open mosaic habitats thrive.
The project will create some 42.09 units of High Distinctiveness Open Mosaic Habitat Units in good condition, enabling offsetting for brownfield developments within the NCA.
Social Value
The South Walney Habitat Bank is firstly a project for nature conservation, creating optimal conditions for targeted species to thrive, however it is also designed with education and community engagement at it’s heart. Enabling public access and learning provides significant health benefits in terms of general and mental health.
GEDG’s approach to this site will provide buyers of units with opportunities for volunteering days and species monitoring for the 30 year management period.
GEDG retain Middlemarch Environmental, a Wildlife Trust Consultancy, to monitor the habitat bank over the management period.
