LINEAR OPEN SPACE
Building Urban Biodiversity
Does your local district council have a linear open space policy? Have you gone
down to the library and asked to look at the current (or draft) Local Plan or
Unitary Development Plan? If not please do so because, in my opinion, you will
be well on the way to becoming more effective in your environmental activities,
particularly if you convert this knowledge into the form of a well drafted letter
for the attention of the Chief Planning Officer.
I am a Dudley ratepayer, an urban area with a lot of industrial history; it is
therefore going through the rigours of regeneration as old smokestack industries
are replaced by brownfield sites that are eventually developed into retail complexes
or modern technology parks. If you compare this area to a rural district council
there is precious little open land. However, the recently published atlas of
UK butterfly distributions shows there are a broader range of species in greater
abundance here than in the average rural countryside. Butterflies and moths are
brilliant indicators of good habitat for all wildlife, which poses a fundamental
question: how can this be?
Put simply, there are a huge number of wildlife corridors in this urban setting
but they are not called that. Here, they are known as railway lines (used or
disused), canals, brownfield sites, and even gardens as many of us grow nectar
and food plants prompted by Alan Titchmarsh and others. Last, but certainly not
least, Dudley Council have developed a strategic policy called Linear Open Space
to build on and protect these natural corridors. The effect is to give us humans
a sense of wellbeing which also has huge wildlife benefits. Any habitat, small
or large in size, is almost always connected to another. The nature reserves
that exist appear to flourish and species rarely die out from in-breeding or
natural disaster as happens too often in the rural countryside where reserves
are usually too small and too isolated. In general, large-scale farming appears
far more effective at imitating a concrete blanket than an industrial or housing
estate. It is only farmers who have fully implemented sustainable pract ices
that buck the trend; it might also surprise readers that while these farms are
not necessarily organic they are invariably profitable.
In my opinion, it is quite unrealistic to expect the human species to give up
economic activity in favour of wildlife. However, as Dudley seems to prove, it
is quite possible that conservation and commerce can successfully coexist so
long as forethought is given to the planning process and is then supported by
appropriate habitat management. Telford and Redditch are further urban examples
of good practice where councils encourage 'linear open space' without needing to
maximise their rateable values. Birmingham, please take note! In rural district
council areas there is not only 'set aside' but now many acres of unprofitable
farmland so why can't some of this land be converted into wildlife corridors linking
together the various nature reserves? Indeed, why couldn't these corridors be
surrounded by 'extensive' farming practices that would encourage the reappearance
of natural grasslands and flower rich meadows?
There is little opinion in this article since it is based on the analysis of
data from over 300,000 separate walks to record butterflies in the West Midlands
in all locations over a 5 year period. I hope you're encouraged to contact decision-makers
in councils, commerce and agriculture asking them to consider biodiversity in
their approach to business. It will rarely cost them much and as the BAe Systems
PLC executive said on the BBC Countryfile article on the Wyre Forest conservation
success story of the Pearl-bordered Fritillary and Grizzled Skipper butterflies
'It's been no hassle. After an approach by a volunteer from Butterfly Conservation
we have easily adapted our grounds maintenance regime and are delighted at the
outcome.' Yes, I think we all are.
If everyone does as suggested the prognosis for butterflies, and wildlife in
general, will be good. However, we must also hope John Prescott recommends that
housing and commercial estates should be built in corridors starting from town
centres and going through the Green Belt into the rural deserts rather than trying
to eliminate all wildlife on brownfield sites - now, that would be 'joined up' thinking!
Richard Southwell
Committee Member
Butterfly Conservation
Publication: The Millennium
Atlas of Butterflies in Britain and Ireland, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0
19 850565 5