Environmental Statement volume 4 - Chiltern Evergreen3

3.4.5 The statutorily designated nature conservation sites within ten kilometres of theexisting rail corridor are shown on Figure 3.2. Details for sites within 2 km of theroute (including non-statutory sites that have been identified through reference toprotected species records) are given in Table 3.1.Table 3.1Statutory Designated Sites within 2 km of the Study CorridorSite NameApproximate Distance from theExisting Rail CorridorReason for DesignationOxfordshire Meadows SAC Adjacent in part. Lowland hay meadows andApium repens (creepingmarshwort).Cothill Fen SAC 7 km Alkaline fens and Alluvialforests with Alnus glutinosa(common alder) and Fraxinusexcelsior (ash).Hook Meadow and The TrapGrounds SSSIIntersects existing rail corridor. Unimproved neutral meadowsand wet grassland.Wendlebury Meads andMansmoor Closes SSSIPort Meadow with WolvercoteCommon and GreenIntersects existing rail corridor.Adjacent in part.Unimproved neutral meadows,calcareous grassland and wetgrassland.Neutral and grazed grasslandand hay meadows and wetgrassland. Site also supportslarge flocks of winteringwildfowl.Wolvercote Meadows 300 m Unimproved haymeadows onfloodplain.Pixey and Yarnton Meads 1.6 km Unimproved haymeadows onfloodplain.New Marston Meadows 1.7 km Unimproved haymeadows onfloodplain.Magdalen Grove 1.7 km Geological Interest.Wytham Woods 1.8 km Broadleaved mixed and yewwoodland and calcareousgrassland.Woodeaton Quarry 2 km Geological3.4.6 Sixty statutory designated sites for nature conservation occur within 10 km of theexisting rail corridor. These include two sites designated for European importance(the Oxfordshire Meadows Special Area of Conservation (SAC) (1) adjacent to theexisting rail corridor and Cothill Fen approximately 7 km to the southwest) and 58sites designated for national importance, (Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) (2) .Non-Statutory Designated Sites3.4.7 ERM has obtained details of non-statutory designated sites from TVERC. 54 sitesdesignated for local to County importance occur adjacent to the existing railcorridor. These include 22 County Wildlife Sites (CWS) and 32 Sites of LocalImportance for Nature Conservation (SLINC).(1) SACs are European statutory designations for areas which are considered rare because of their habitats or the species containedwithin them.(2) A site statutorily notified by the nature conservation agencies as being of national importance for nature conservation.ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT24CHILTERN RAILWAYS LTD