Case Study - The Thames Basin Heaths
What is the issue?
The Thames Basin Heaths is a fragmented network of heathland sites
that covers parts of Surrey, Berkshire and Hampshire. It supports three
species of internationally protected bird - the woodlark, the nightjar,
and the Dartford warbler. The heathland is a fragile habitat, sensitive
to damage from the urban areas that surround it; in addition, the
protected birds (which nest on or near the ground) are particularly
vulnerable to disturbance - from cats, and from recreation activities
such as people with dogs walking on the heaths.
As an internationally designated Special Protection Area (SPA), there
is a legal requirement to safeguard the habitat and the birds it
supports. More housing development can therefore only be allowed nearby
if it will not cause further damage or disturbance to the SPA.
One way of ensuring this is to provide measures alongside new housing
which will avoid any negative impacts on the Thames Basin Heaths - so
called ‘avoidance measures'.
What is being done?
To enable housing developments to go ahead, a number of local authorities near the SPA have produced strategies that allow financial contributions to be collected from developers to fund the provision of avoidance measures.
These measures include:
- providing alternative attractive green space of a similar character to the heaths for people to visit, walk dogs on etc
- educating people who visit the SPA about the impact of their visits and how to minimise disruption and damage to the protected birds and the heaths
- making the heaths less attractive than the alternative green space that is being provided, for example by limiting car park provision or restricting access or dogs off leads at certain times of year.
A Joint Strategic Partnership Board (comprising elected councillors from local authorities, the South East of England Regional Assembly, and advisory members representing the nature conservation sector, development industry, access and recreation interests and major landowners) has also been set up to help facilitate joint working and provide advice about the protection of the Thames Basin Heaths, and - importantly - to monitor the provision of avoidance measures to ensure that they are working.
For more information please contact Kristoffer Hewitt at Natural England.