SECTION 3.0 - Durham County Council

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Pontburn woods Hamsterley Mill Ragpath wood Esh Winning Railway wood Esh Winning Walters wood Ouston Westlaw wood Ebchester White hill woods Easington lane Heritage Coast Heritage coasts cover England’s most beautiful and undeveloped stretches of coastline and are managed so that their natural beauty is conserved for future generations. There is one Heritage Coast within County Durham. It stretches 14kms in length and runs from Sunderland to Hartlepool. This coastline is the newest Heritage Coast in the UK. The objectives of designation as Heritage Coast are set out by the Countryside Commission as follows: "The finest stretches of coast justify national recognition as Heritage Coasts. They should be given effective protection and management; stronger measures should apply there than elsewhere. The main objectives for Heritage Coasts are: • to conserve, protect and enhance the natural beauty of the coasts, including their terrestrial, littoral and marine flora and fauna, and their heritage features of architectural, historical and archaeological interest; • to facilitate and enhance their enjoyment, understanding and appreciation by the public by improving and extending opportunities for recreational, educational, sporting and tourist activities that draw on, and are consistent with, the conservation of their natural beauty and the protection of their heritage features; • to maintain, and improve (where necessary) the environmental health of inshore waters affecting Heritage Coasts and their beaches through appropriate works and management measures; • to take account of the needs of agriculture, forestry and fishing, and of the economic and social needs of the small communities on these coasts, by promoting sustainable forms of social and economic development, which in themselves conserve and enhance natural beauty and heritage features. There are a number of important habitats and species associated with this stretch of coastline. These include Magnesian Limestone Grassland, of which there is approximately 225ha; Woodland and coastal gills, which incorporate Blue House Gill (part of a SSSI, an NNR and a Durham Wildlife Trust Reserve); and coastal sand dunes. Page 41 4/15/2009
Wildlife corridors/Networks of Natural Habitats A wildlife corridor or green corridor is an area of habitat connecting wildlife populations separated by human activities (such as roads, development or farming). This allows an exchange of individuals between populations, lowering breeding within populations, so increasing effective population size, and facilitating re-establishment of populations that have been decimated or eliminated due to random events. This may potentially moderate some of the worst effects of habitat fragmentation. (Wikipedia.org) The majority of the county is predominantly rural, dominated by arable farming. The rolling aspect gives a patchwork of fields, woodland, and rivers, interspersed with large towns and villages. Within this the hedgerows, ditches, embankments, and green lanes are attractive features, and play an important part as vital corridors for the movement of wildlife. As well as these more traditional corridors, a number of other features can play a part in the overall wildlife distribution network. Railway lines (both used and disused) and motorway verges offer security from human disturbance, with the wildlife quickly adapting to the noise and wind generated by passing trains and vehicles. Industrial sites can also provide vital links, through peripheral waste ground and overgrown run-off ditches, in what otherwise would be a wildlife desert. As ‘greenfield’ sites are developed, gardens and school grounds can take on increasingly significant stepping-stones for wildlife between areas of countryside. In 1990 English Nature (now Natural England) identified a network of strategic wildlife corridors in the region. This information was used by the County Council to identify wildlife corridors in the County structure plan. These corridors were based on major river valleys, links with corridors in neighbouring conurbations, and clusters of important wildlife sites. In recent years there has been a growing realisation of the importance of conserving and enhancing biodiversity at a landscape scale, and a more sophisticated approach to mapping and modelling the spatial factors affecting it. PPS9 requires that planning authorities identify networks of semi-natural habitats and opportunities for their conservation and enhancement. Natural England has more recently mapped networks of semi-natural habitats using national data sets. This shows that the uplands of the North Pennines in the west of the County is covered by extensive tracts of semi-natural habitat, and particularly heath, grassland, mire, fen and bog. Habitat networks are more fragmented in the intensively farmed and settled landscapes of the lowlands and upland fringes. Further work is required both to refine the boundaries of these networks at a local level and to identify opportunities for habitat creation and restoration to improve the condition and connectivity of these important habitats at a landscape scale. In terms of protection, hedgerows, rivers, streams and ponds, and road verges of conservation importance are included as priority habitats under Durham’s Page 42 4/15/2009 Link to Landscape Technical Paper (No.23)
Page 1 and 2: County Durham Core Evidence Base Te
Page 3 and 4: SECTION 1.0 1. Introduction 1.1 The
Page 5 and 6: 1.6 Executive Summary of emerging i
Page 7 and 8: SECTION 2.0 - POLICY CONTEXT 2.1 In
Page 9 and 10: emphasis to endangered and vulnerab
Page 11 and 12: • SEA / SA / AA Strategic Environ
Page 13 and 14: iodiversity which are to be monitor
Page 15 and 16: • To identify the main geological
Page 17 and 18: iodiversity were aspects of the Rur
Page 19 and 20: It also states that local authoriti
Page 21 and 22: 2.3 Regional Policy Context • A B
Page 23 and 24: • North East Strategy for the Env
Page 25 and 26: 2.4 County (Sub-Regional) Policy Co
Page 27 and 28: guiding new mineral development, ex
Page 29 and 30: SECTION 3.0 - Current Situation 3.1
Page 31 and 32: number of Local Wildlife Sites. The
Page 33 and 34: Page 34 4/15/2009
Page 35 and 36: Biosphere Reserve Biosphere reserve
Page 37 and 38: Conditions of SSSIs in County Durha
Page 39: OTHER CONSERVATION AREAS AND HABITA
Page 43 and 44: Page 44 4/15/2009
Page 45 and 46: They predominate in clay soils, whe
Page 47 and 48: Project 13 , has tried to fill this
Page 49 and 50: Assessment. Comments were received
Page 51 and 52: Page 52 4/15/2009
Page 53 and 54: Initially funded for two years by N
Page 55 and 56: Most areas of ancient woodland in t
Page 57 and 58: • Woodland Strategy The first Reg
Page 59 and 60: achieved, and this will have improv
Page 61 and 62: 3.2 EVIDENCE BASE SUMMARY - Gaps an
Page 63 and 64: SECTION 4.0 - GOLDEN THREADS 4.1 Su
Page 65 and 66: • Loss of important habitats part
Page 67 and 68: SECTION 5.0 - CONCLUSIONS & RECOMME
Page 69 and 70: APPENDIX A DESIGNATIONS BY CHARACTE
Page 71 and 72: North Pennines AONB Haswell Wood, S
Page 73 and 74: Killhope Wheel Leadmining Centre Gr
Page 75 and 76: Tees Lowlands SSSI Ambling Gate Ban
Page 77 and 78: West Durham Coalfield AONB Willingt
Page 79 and 80: Bedburn Beck and Adder Wood Crakehi
Page 81 and 82: form of H12 Calluna vulgaris - Vacc
Page 83 and 84: peat displays the full range of fea
Page 85 and 86: North Pennine Moors 103,109.42 (cov
Page 87 and 88: Special Protection Area: Name Area
Page 89 and 90: APPENDIX C: SITES OF SPECIAL SCIENT
Page 91 and 92:
UNFAVOURABLE inappropriate wetland
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Fairy Holes Cave 213.39019563043900
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grazing and juniper wood to limesto
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APPENDIX F: LOCAL WILDLIFE SITES (L
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Derwentside Broomhill Dene 1.32 Sep
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Chester-lestreetChester-le- Waldrid
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Wear Valley Flylands' River Gaunles
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Durham Finchale Priory Woods 4.5 Ja
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Durham The Scrambles 4.42 1995 Mead
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Easington Slingley Pond 5.29 June 1
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Teesdale Railway, Bluestone Grange
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Teesdale Cragg Wood, Evenwood 6.43
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Sedgefield Eden Grange Pond Mainsfo
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13 Gaunless River, East Bank Wear V
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59 Teesdale Cave (Moking Hurth Cave
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APPENDIX H: Summary of protection a
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APPENDIX I: HABITATS AND COUNTY SPE
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Dark green fritillary Dingy skipper
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Biodiversity and the Built Environm
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SECTION 3.0 - Durham County Council

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