Habitat Management Plan
The land on which the Ffynnon Oer Wind Farm is sited includes a variety of upland habitats including blanket bog and acid grassland. There is widespread evidence of past industrial activity on the site and of an earlier human settlement. To the east and west of the site lay conifer plantations.
The Environmental Statement which npower renewables submitted with its planning application for the wind farm in November 2002, considered that the site of the wind farm was of local conservation importance within Neath Port Talbot County Borough for blanket bog, acid grassland, acid flush, marshy grassland, peat pool and valley bog, supporting invertebrates and conservation notable breeding birds.
npower renewables was granted full planning permission to construct the wind farm by Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council in May 2003, subject to the discharge of a number of planning conditions. One of these conditions required a Habitat Management Plan to be submitted to and approved by the local authority prior to the construction of the site.
Objectives
In early 2004, a meeting and subsequent consultations between npower renewables, Entec (Environmental Consultants to npower renewables), the Ffynnon Oer site landowners and Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council agreed a scope for the Habitat Management Plan. It was decided that the Plan would focus on four objectives:
- Blanket Bog
restore the waterlogged conditions of the blanket bog
- Heathland
encourage the establishment of a more tussocky sward with more abundant ericaceous species within the higher ground on-site
- Pool
increase the availability of wet areas and potential nesting sites for wetland birds
- Walls
increase the availability of intact sections of drystone walls as shelter habitat for nesting birds and other wildlife
The long term vision for the site following the development and implementation of the Habitat Management Plan is to increase the biodiversity value of the site by habitat enhancement and habitat creation.
Method
Blanket Bog Enhancement
The restoration of waterlogged conditions in the blanket bog has been achieved by the selective blocking of a small number of ditches, effectively creating small dams. Peat excavated from the blanket bog for the wind turbine foundations has been used for ditch blocking. In addition to restoring water logged conditions in the blanket bog, an expected effect of the dams has been to create open water habitat within the ditches.
One of the blocked ditches on site
Heathland Regeneration
The establishment of a more tussocky sward with more abundant ericaceous species within the higher ground on-site will be achieved by reducing the pre-Habitat Management Plan grazing regime, which will favour the regeneration of heathland vegetation.
It is envisaged that a reduction in stocking density, coupled with a preference of cattle to graze the semi-improved/improved grassland away from the acid grassland should lead to a perceptible change in the sward structure and composition.
The grazing habits of the sheep on the mountain are to graze the improved grassland in preference to the unimproved areas. It is anticipated therefore that lowering the overall stocking density will have a disproportionate effect upon the unimproved areas and achieve the objective.
Pool Creation
An increase in the availability of wet areas and potential nesting sites for wetland birds has been achieved by the creation of two shallow pools. The pools have been created in an area which already has a relatively high water table and natural ponding will be relied upon to fill the pools.
Walls
An increase in the availability of intact sections of drystone walls as shelter habitat for nesting birds and other wildlife has been achieved by repairing approximately 100 metres of defunct sections of drystone wall using existing material on-site.
Timescales
Implementation of the Habitat Management Plan began in 2005 and has been undertaken as appropriate in parallel with the construction programme for the wind farm. The plan is expected to be fully implemented by autumn 2006.
Monitoring
Following implementation of the Habitat Management Plan, measures undertaken as part of the Plan will be monitored to assess their success, and to identify what, if any changes need to be made. Ongoing progress reports will be submitted to Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council, and a full review of the Plan is scheduled after 5 years.
In 2005, consultants carried out the "baseline assessment'" and set up ground markers for the fixed point photography and detailed ecological surveys that will be repeated for the first 5 years of the Habitat Management Plan period.
A site visit by npower renewables, the Local Authority, the landowners and the consultant ecologist undertaking the monitoring, will be made three years following construction of the wind farm and implementation of the Habitat Management Plan. The remit of this site visit will be to determine the interim success of the stocking regime changes and other management activities, and if any remedial measures or revisions to the management activities are appropriate.
A full review of the Habitat Management Plan will be undertaken five years after completion of the wind farm and implementation of the Habitat Management Plan. This review will consist of a meeting and consultations between npower renewables, the landowners and the appointed ecologist in charge of the monitoring. Set in the context of the monitoring results, the scope of this review will be to focus on the continued implementation of the Habitat Management Plan for the next 20 years or so, including any amendments to the management activities or alternative monitoring arrangements and the dates for subsequent reviews.
Habitat Restoration
In addition to the long-term habitat management plan, npower renewables also undertook to reinstate any areas disturbed by construction activities at the site. Work is currently ongoing and it is expected that full restoration will be achieved by summer 2007, at which time all fences, that have been erected to control the grazing of re-seeded areas, will be removed.
Environment
