Mynydd y Gwair Wind Farm - RWE.com

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P a g e | 144 Mynydd y Gwair Wind Farm spear thistle, dandelion (Taraxacum agg.), common mouse ear (Cerastium fontanum), annual meadow grass (Poa annua) and ratstail plantain (Plantago major). 9.4.42 No further modifications to the access route are proposed before the access route leaves the existing metalled road near the isolated farmstead of Blaennant Ddu. Here the route will exploit a muddy track that angles off towards Mynydd Garn Fach. The track hugs the edge of the common for some 750m, running adjacent to field-boundary walls with improved in-bye grassland fields beyond, and with steep slopes falling away to the west and north-west. The verges of the track support a species-poor MG11 type grassland indicative of agricultural improvement and shot through with soft rush dominated flushes indicative of poor drainage. This grades downslope to more ffridd-type vegetation. 9.4.43 After some 750m the track opens out onto the open common of Mynydd Garn Fach. From here to the main wind-farm site the track alignment affects species-poor U5 grassland, with localised soft rush flushes and small areas of disturbed ground and acid grassland transitional to U4 around former mine workings. Otter and Water Vole Survey Results 9.4.44 Potential lying up habitat for otters is present along the main (Afon Lliw) stream corridor but such places tend to be in use by sheep taking shelter. Water vole is judged unlikely to use the study area on the basis of lack of suitable habitat as well as the lack of any signs found at any time during the 2004-2011 period. 9.4.45 Otters are likely to find poor quality foraging even in the stream courses. However, these form corridors that could assist animals dispersing between catchments and occasional use for this purpose cannot be ruled out. The chances of catching the evidence of occasional transits such as this are small. Bat Survey Results 9.4.46 Bats will forage over high moorland sites similar to Mynydd y Gwair, but such usage tends to be intermittent, with likely concentrations in still and warm summer weather coinciding with mass insect emergence and flight which bats will commute out of nearby valleys to exploit. Catching such events is difficult, and therefore the initial bat activity surveys were designed after consultation with CCW to give an overview of the local bat fauna by transect studies that concentrated on peripheral areas away from the proposed wind farm itself but where habitat structures suggested that bat usage would be more predictable. The transect locations and routes for these initial studies are shown on Figure 9.1 and in Appendix 9.2. 9.4.47 Five species of bat were detected in these original transect studies. They included both common and soprano pipistrelles, noctule, brown long-eared and a Myotis 1 species (these often cannot be identified further without capture and examination in the hand), affording an appreciation of the species composition of bat populations local to the wind farm site. A full tabulation of passes by bat species and transect sections is given in Appendix 9.2, along with graphic representations of the number of bat passes in each transect section. These show that bat activity during the surveys was far from uniform but instead concentrations of 1 Natterer‟s bat Myotis nattereri has been recorded within 2km of the wind farm site
P a g e | 145 Mynydd y Gwair Wind Farm particular species occurred in relatively small areas, most often associated with habitat interfaces and/or the presence of water. 9.4.48 Emergence surveys in two areas of former mine-workings on Mynydd Garn Fach (locations shown on Figure 9.1 and Appendix 9.3) were also carried out in October 2007 to assess whether these represented roost sites close to the proposed wind farm. Bats were found to be active in both these locations. At „Mine 1‟ (as labelled on Figure 9.1) a total of 14 passes by common pipistrelle, two unidentified pipistrelles, four soprano pipistrelle and one long-eared bat / Myotis passed the area feeding or commuting. At „Mine 2‟ only 11 such passes were recorded, all by common pipistrelle. No evidence was found that either of these former workings were used as roost sites however. 9.4.49 Additional surveys of bat activity on the main wind farm site were carried out in September 2009 and May and June 2010. These confirmed low-level use of the wind farm area by bats, the principal species involved being common pipistrelle, although possible soprano pipistrelle and Natterer‟s bats were also recorded. Higher levels of bat activity were found outside the wind farm area in nearby woodland and forestry habitats, consistent with previous assessments and survey results. Full reports of these surveys are provided at Appendices 9.4 and 9.5. 9.4.50 Overall, the various bat surveys carried out provide a robust base of evidence in support of the assessment that bat use of the proposed wind farm site is small-scale, intermittent and focused on the more sheltered gullies. Higher levels of activity are only likely to occur as a response to a convergence of favourable weather conditions with mass insect emergence and flight – e.g. of pyralid moth species feeding on the grasses on the site. Bats will commute out of better quality habitats in nearby valleys to exploit such conditions, but even then, use levels are likely to be focused in the sheltered gullies, with little use made of the exposed moor tops. Badger Survey Results 9.4.51 Open moorland habitats typically provide poor foraging for badgers and where the animals are present at all, they typically occur at very low density compared to lowland habitats. 9.4.52 Prior to 2007, no badger setts were located within the Main Study Area. It was considered at that time that use was probably limited to occasional crossing by dispersing animals. In May 2007, however, badgers were found to have dug into the filling of an old mine shaft or adit immediately west of a farm track passing along the west facing slope of Mynydd Garn-Fach. As previously observed in such circumstances, there was relatively little spoil excavation (not much digging is needed before the remains of the mine chambers are encountered), but hair and / or evidence of bedding change were found in three out of six areas of disturbance. The other three areas of disturbance appeared to be minor collapses likely to have been triggered by the badger activity underground rather than entrances in use by the animals. 9.4.53 Further badger activity was also noted on the eastern side of Mynydd Garn-Fach during bat survey work in October 2007, and this may have been a precursor to a colonisation event that resulted in a previously unrecorded sett being found within the redline boundary encompassing the main access track route during walkover surveys in early 2010. Field sign evidence suggested it was a main sett at the time, and indeed it has remained in continuous use since. As this sett appeared to conflict with the access track alignment, further detailed work was carried out to ascertain its precise location relative to both the redline boundary and
Page 1 and 2: Contents Mynydd y Gwair Wind Farm 9
Page 3 and 4: P a g e | 131 shown on Figure 9.1.
Page 5 and 6: P a g e | 133 time, and at various
Page 7 and 8: P a g e | 135 Mynydd y Gwair Wind F
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Page 25 and 26: P a g e | 153 Design Mitigation Myn
Page 31 and 32: P a g e | 159 Table 9.5 Key Recepto
Page 37 and 38: Impact Source P a g e | 165 Table 9
Page 39 and 40: Impact Source temporary landtake fo
Page 41 and 42: Impact Source Indirect effects (dus
Page 43 and 44: P a g e | 171 Operation Mynydd y Gw
Page 45 and 46: P a g e | 173 Cumulative Impacts My
Page 47: P a g e | 175 Mynydd y Gwair Wind F

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