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Forthbank Wind Energy Development
11.2.67 No pre-existing records of water vole were provided either through the consultation responses
or through a search of the National Biodiversity Network gateway database.
11.2.68 Consequently, it is considered that the habitat within and adjacent to the application area is
unsuitable for water voles and that the species is unlikely to be present. As such, specific
surveys for this species were not considered necessary for this assessment.
Invasive Plant Species Subject to Legal Control
11.2.69 During the various field surveys, evidence of any invasive plant species subject to legal control
(e.g. giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum) or Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica))
were recorded.
Assessment of Significance
11.2.70 The section above describes the methods used to establish the baseline conditions (i.e.
important nature conservation features on site). This section explains how the significance of
effects on these wildlife interests is assessed.
11.2.71 Assessing the significance of impacts on ecological interests is a staged process based on the
2006 IEEM guidelines 30 . Although these guidelines do not provide a matrix to aid the
determination of effect significance, a standard matrix designed for this purpose has been
produced by RPS. This matrix is presented in Table 11.4 below and takes into consideration
the nature conservation value of the feature which is likely to be affected along with the
magnitude of the effect as detailed in the sections below and in Tables 11.2 and 11.3
respectively. This use of this matrix is for reasons of clarity and does not prevent the use of
the 2006 guidelines to determine significance through reasoned argument.
Determining Nature Conservation Value
11.2.72 Determining the nature conservation value of the ecological interests within the study area is
undertaken in a systematic way using criteria that determines whether there is international,
national, regional, local or negligible significance. The term for the ecological receptors
affected at the site is 'Valued Ecological Receptors' (VERs). The approach to valuing the
nature conservation level of each ecological receptor is outlined in Table 11.2.
Table 11.2 Approach to Evaluating Nature Conservation Value of the Ecological
Receptors at the Site
Conservation
Value
International 31
National
Examples
Habitats or species that form part of the cited interest within an internationally protected site, such as
those designated under the Habitats Directive (Special Areas of Conservation - SACs) or other
international convention (e.g. Ramsar site).
A feature (e.g. habitat or population) which is either unique or sufficiently unusual to be considered
as being one of the highest quality examples in an international/national context, such that the site is
likely to be designated as a site of European importance (e.g. SAC).
Habitats or species that form part of the cited interest within a nationally designated site, such as a
Special Site of Scientific Interest (SSSI), or a National Nature Reserve (NNR).
A feature (e.g. habitat or population) which is either unique or sufficiently unusual to be considered
as being one of the highest quality examples in a national/regional context for which the site could
potentially be designated as an SSSI.
November 2010 Chapter 11 Page 12
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