Long Preston Wetlands: Adrian Shepherd, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

2. Today’s themes
• Project Introduction and key aims
• Floodplain – why is it important?
• Grant schemes for farmers
• Achievements – habitat improvement, bird
surveys, historic research, improved
appropriate access, raised awareness
• Business support and involvement
• River Restoration Plan – NE and EA
• The future

3. Introduction
The Long Preston Wet Grassland Project
started in 2004 as a partnership between:
– RSPB
– Natural England
– Environment Agency
– Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust
– Local farmers
– North Yorkshire County Council
– Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority

5. What makes the area
special?
• It is distinctive and unique
• Large areas of Site of Special Scientific
Interest (SSSI)
• It already supports important bird
populations
• It has a rich archaeological record
• It is prominent in the landscape

6. Aims of the project
5 main aims including:
• Achieve wet grassland recovery for floodplain
wildlife
• Work with farmers to access grant aid for
favourable management
• Develop sustainable opportunities for local
businesses
• Promote the floodplain’s wildlife to local people
and visitors
• Monitor birds, plants and habitat quality

7. Our shared vision
Within 10 - 20 years the area will:
• Be a mosaic of grassland / wetland habitats
• Be a functioning, working landscape with
farming at its heart
• Benefit / sustain local communities
• Provide an education resource for schools &
management demonstration site for farmers
• Provide an opportunity for people to
experience a wetland landscape

8. 200 years of drainage &
flood protection
• c.1815 ‘backcut’ drain on • Ribble flood embankments
eastern floodplain raised c.1860
• Western floodplain drains • Effectiveness has gradually
through multiple outlets declined due to lack of
directly into the Ribble maintenance

9. The restoration of targeted floodplain areas to
wet grassland and other wetland features
requires:
• Controlled water level management during certain
‘critical’ periods of the year
• Creation of shallow scrapes and foot drains
• Management of the ground cover by appropriate
livestock grazing and/or mechanical cutting

10. The Long Preston
floodplain offers
opportunities for wet
grassland restoration
and re-creation
at a local scale
at a large scale

11. Benefits to flood risk management
• The floodplain covers 5km2
• Annual rainfall of 1185mm
• Floodplain naturally helps
to delay peak flows
downstream
• Long history of land
drainage from medieval
times
• Regular flooding from Dec
to March (and longer)

12. Benefits to biodiversity
• The project is a key part of Craven’s Biodiversity Action
Plan (BAP)
• Helps to restore / create 4 of 13 priority habitats
highlighted in the BAP
– Farmland and Grassland (floodplain grazing marsh)
– Rivers and Streams
– Fen
– Hedgerow
• The project also enhances the area for
several UK BAP Priority species:
Curlew, Lapwing, Yellow wagtail, Tree sparrow
• It also benefits numerous other bird species

13. Environmental Stewardship
•Provides funding to farmers & land managers
for environmental management.
• Around 70% of farm land in England is currently in an
Environmental Stewardship Scheme.
• The annual value of payments in England is £392 m
• 3 elements: Entry Level/Upland Entry Level/Higher Level

14. Higher Level Stewardship
• Significant environmental benefits involving more complex
management
• Competitive scheme – aimed at high priority areas & habitats
• Includes capital work payments
Habitats Capital Works
Wet grassland restoration Stone wall restoration
Restoration of rough grazing for birds Scrape creation
Hay meadow restoration Water level controls
Fen restoration Historic bridge
restoration

15. Restoration of Wet Grassland
Management
• Lighter grazing through bird nesting season
• Cattle grazing to provide a more varied sward height
• No fertiliser, reduces fertility & competitive grasses,
creates a more diverse, semi-natural sward
• Rush control
Capital works
• Water level management plan
• Water level control structures
• Scrape creation

16. HLS Management Plan

17. Scheme Uptake
97% of the project
area is in an
Environmental
Stewardship scheme
8 Higher Level
Stewardship schemes
in the project area
cover 170 hectares
(420 acres)

18. Installing sluices to control water levels

19. Creating scrapes and foot drains to provide feeding
habitat for breeding wading birds

20. Controlling rush cover by
topping rushes and grazing
with cattle

21. Farmer demonstration visits

22. 600 bales cut on
one farm in
September 2010
Rush cutting –
benefits to wading
birds and the farm
business.

23. Breeding bird
distribution
from surveys
in 2003 - 2008

24. Breeding wading birds 1
• In 2010 the Long Preston floodplain was included
(for the first time) in a national Breeding Waders Of
Wet Meadow survey, co-ordinated by the RSPB,
BTO and Natural England.
• This national survey has been repeated on a series
of sites in1982, 1995, 2002 and now 2010). It gives
a valuable insight into patterns of breeding wading
birds in the UK and helps assess effectiveness of
agri-environment scheme measures.

25. Breeding wading birds 2
• The Long Preston results are impressive with over 80
pairs of wading birds of conservation concern breeding
on the floodplain
• This clearly identifies the project area as a regionally
important site for breeding wading birds, especially in a
river floodplain location.
• In England there are now only a handful of sites (mainly
nature reserves) south of a line drawn between the
Humber and the Dee, that support all four species of
breeding wading bird of conservation concern in the
numbers found at Long Preston.

26. Wintering waterfowl counts
Peak counts
Pintail 300 Wigeon 1013
Teal 288 Lapwing 761

27. Project Phase 2 2008-11
– Continued to promote wet grassland
creation
– Developed other objectives:
• research history
• promote the floodplain’s wildlife to
local people and visitors
• develop sustainable opportunities for
local businesses

28. Historic activity on the
wetlands
Linda Smith Rural Archaeologist
North Yorkshire County Council

29. Farming before enclosure

30. Effects of enclosure

31. Hall Moss and Ings

32. LP DEEPS, South. LIDAR

34. Promoting the site to
local people and visitors
• Sustainability –use of a resource
without a negative impact on it for the
future
• Enable people to learn and enjoy
• Ensure people respect the place – the
land, the features and the wildlife
• Retain the wild and quiet qualities
• Good example of successful wetland
management

35. Local school group visits

38. Guided walks for groups
Craven Conservation Group
Yorkshire Dales Society
Long Preston Heritage Gp

39. MSc Sustainable Tourism 2009-11

40. Imperial College
MSc Hydrology

41. RSPB
RSPB
national
wetland
training

42. General public access
Barriers
• Limited and poor access
• Ribble Way
• Poor car parking
• Lack of information
• No facilities

43. • Improve quality of physical access

44. Bramble Signs

45. Information –
Newsletters, leaflets, panels,
and website
 Background heritage research :
David Johnson
 Creative Interpretation and design :
Cath Blakey and The Fuse

50. Long Preston Deeps (SSSI)
Need for a River Restoration Plan
•Up to 2010 this largely riverine SSSI was in unfavourable condition
•River & floodplain at Long Preston Deeps undergone considerable
modification over time
•Gross changes to physical form and function mean flora & fauna
affected across the entire site
•A degraded system - displaying few of the functional geomorphological
and ecological features expected under more natural conditions

51. A Degraded System
•Extensive flood banks confine all but
the more extreme flows to the main
channel and immediate bank area.
•Poor river –floodplain connection
•Non-functional floodplain
•Unstable upper reach
•Major bank stability problems
•Sub-optimal fishery
•Severely altered vegetation

52. Implementing Long Preston Deeps
River Restoration Plan
•high-level and aspirational,
•proposes actions to recreate a more dynamic system
•aspiring to optimise channel and floodplain form & function via
assisted natural recovery
•EA & NE recognise importance of future collaboration with land
managers, farmers, the local community, angling clubs, shooting
groups, voluntary groups and individual citizens.

53. Impact of Flood Banks
Flood banks holding waters on floodplain
Recent breach of flood bank

54. Delivering Long Preston Deeps
River Restoration Plan
•Engagement for the Plan began in
early summer 2010
•Site survey followed with
development of draft Plan up to
October 2010
•Stakeholder events and meetings held
in October and November 2010
•Draft Plan significantly revised and
finalised in December 2010
•Plan now means the status has
changed to unfavourable recovering
condition
http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/regions/yorkshire_and_

55. The future 2011 ...
• Develop more links to businesses –
develop ‘brand’ for the area
• Develop web site, training for wildlife
tourism
• Support farms with water management
• River Ribble Restoration Plan
-Environment Agency / Natural England