Mendips north-facing Slopes

The steep north-facing slopes of the Mendip Hills have a high concentration of woodland, including a number valuable ancient woodlands, alongside scattered species-rich grasslands and mosaic habitats, such as Dolebury Warren.

There area is, therefore, a priority for improved woodland management for wildlife and better connecting existing woodland. Existing species-rich calcareous grasslands and scrub mosaic habitats, such as those on Dolebury Warren, should be protected and expanded, and are not suitable areas for woodland creation.

The area is also a priority for natural flood management; woodland expansion/creation in appropriate areas would help to deliver natural flood management while benefitting wildlife.

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Priorities for nature recovery

Delivering the priorities for nature recovery is particularly important in the mapped Focus Areas for Nature Recovery. ‘Landscape recovery’ measures, which will have the biggest impact on nature recovery, are particularly relevant in these Focus Areas.

There is a greater amount of land where extensive grazing creates diverse, dynamic and shifting habitat mosaic, including successional habitats and scrub.

Measures	Most relevant to	Land type	Indicative level of land-use impact for nature
On areas that are currently biodiversity-poor, use a mix of free-roaming herbivores with different grazing habits to create a dynamic and shifting mosaic of habitats. Ideally, this should be done in a large enough area for natural processes to create habitat variety.	Farmers and landowners	Countryside	Landscape recovery
Reduce the intensity of existing cattle grazing to improve biodiversity and create dynamic grassland mosaics; this could include introducing more hardy, native breeds of cattle, and introducing ponies alongside them.	Farmers and landowners	Countryside	Landscape recovery
Manage areas of scrub that are in good condition to avoid them losing their scrub or thicket-like characteristics by, for example, coppicing on a suitable rotation and using appropriate grazing regimes.	Farmers and landowners	Countryside	Landscape recovery

Measures	Most relevant to	Land type	Indicative level of land-use impact for nature
Create semi-natural broadleaved woodland, following the principles set out in the Forest of Avon Plan and ensure the woodland has a suitable management plan in place. Where possible (i.e. next to or close to existing woodland), allow woodland to naturally generate rather than planting trees.	Farmers and landowners	Countryside	Landscape recovery
Restore plantations on ancient woodland sites (PAWS) to native woodland.	Farmers and landowners	Countryside	Landscape recovery
Create or restore wood pasture and parkland, which incorporate extensive grazing alongside trees.	Farmers and landowners	Countryside	Landscape recovery
Allow natural regeneration of scrub and woodland close to existing semi-natural woodlands, which provides important ‘edge habitat’.	Farmers and landowners	Countryside	Environmental stewardship

Measures	Most relevant to	Land type	Indicative level of land-use impact for nature
Manage existing wood pasture and parkland to maximise their value to wildlife and ensure continued survival of mature and veteran trees	Farmers and landowners	Countryside	Landscape recovery
Carry out specialist tree surgery as needed to extend the lives of veteran and ancient trees	Farmers and landowners	Countryside	Landscape recovery

There is more woodland that is managed and in good ecological condition, including minimising the impact of ash dieback and reducing grazing pressure on sensitive woodlands from deer.

Measures	Most relevant to	Land type	Indicative level of land-use impact for nature
Improve the management of existing areas of woodland for wildlife, following the principles set out in the Forest of Avon Plan	Farmers and landowners	Woodland	Landscape recovery
Reintroduce coppicing as a form of woodland management that benefits wildlife while potentially providing woodland products such as fuel	Farmers and landowners	Woodland	Landscape recovery
Open up rides and glades in existing woodland to develop ecotones and scrubby areas that better support a wider range of wildlife. Where appropriate, use new open woodland areas caused by ash dieback to create new wood pastures or glades	Farmers and landowners	Woodland	Landscape recovery
Consider introducing grazing animals in larger woodlands to create a more dynamic ecology and enable habitat succession.	Farmers & landowners	Woodland	Landscape recovery
Take measures to reduce deer grazing in woodlands, such as putting up deer fencing, to reduce their negative impact on woodland ecology due to overgrazing.	Farmers & landowners	Woodland	Environmental stewardship
Leave deadwood in situ to provide habitat for a variety of species including fungi, lichens, invertebrates, mosses, bats and birds.	Farmers & landowners	Woodland	Environmental stewardship
Periodically thin ‘high forest’ type woodlands (tall trees with little shrub layer) to maintain structural diversity and a varied age structure where appropriate	Farmers & landowners	Woodland	Environmental stewardship
Avoid placing game bird pens in woodlands with a high botanical value	Farmers & landowners	Woodland	N/A
Ensure public access to and recreational activities within woodlands minimises impacts on woodland ecology, including clearly marked paths.	Farmers & landowners	Woodland	N/A
Only fell trees affected by ash dieback when there is a material safety risk, a clear future safety risk, or as part of normal silvicultural operations, and leave deadwood in place where possible for the benefit of wildlife	Farmers & landowners	Woodland	Environmental stewardship
Where there is a diverse mix of tree species present, allow natural regeneration to replace trees lost through ash dieback. Where natural regeneration is not possible, replace trees lost through ash dieback with a suitable mix of native broadleaved species	Farmers & landowners	Woodland	Environmental stewardship
Adopt ecologically sound forestry practices in woodlands used for timber production. This can include continuous cover management regimes that attempt to mimic natural processes, and integration of areas and corridors of native broadleaved woodland in coniferous forests	Farmers & landowners	Woodland	Environmental stewardship
Include fire and fuel breaks and/or fire belts in woodland to reduce the risk of wildfires, and ensure woodlands are resilient to climate change in the future	Farmers & landowners	Woodland	N/A

Existing species-rich grasslands and meadows, including lowland calcareous grasslands, are protected and well-managed.

Measures	Most relevant to	Land type	Indicative level of land-use impact for nature
Keep or put in place the appropriate extensive grazing regime for existing species-rich grasslands and lowland meadows, avoiding overgrazing or undergrazing that can lead to grassland habitat being lost	Farmers and landowners	Countryside	Landscape recovery
Prevent scrub from encroaching on species-rich wildflower grasslands, while maintaining a minority area of scrub that is managed to create a varied age, composition and physical structure including glades and scalloped edges	Farmers and landowners	Countryside	Environmental stewardship
Where there is an absence of scrub and successional habitat in or adjacent to grasslands, encourage a minority amount to improve structural diversity and benefit wildlife	Farmers and landowners	Countryside	Environmental stewardship

There are more waterbodies that are in good ecological status and support thriving populations of fish and other freshwater wildlife.

Measures	Most relevant to	Land type	Indicative level of land-use impact for nature
Create a sediment pond or trap to provide an area where muddy run-off from fields or tracks is allowed to pond, so that sediment will settle out before entering watercourses	Farmers and landowners	Countryside	Sustainable farming
Reduce run-off of pollutants from farmland through the use of best practice in applying fertiliser, manure and slurry	Farmers and landowners	Countryside	Sustainable farming
Establish a buffer strip (which can contain long grasses, trees, and shrubs) of 4-12m on field boundaries or runoff channels. This can reduce nutrient and pollutant runoff into watercourses and provide habitat for wildlife	Farmers and landowners	Countryside	Sustainable farming
Improve management of manure and slurry to reduce pollution (e.g. roofing manure storage or manure storage pads)	Farmers and landowners	Countryside	Sustainable farming
Reduce the pollution caused by the transport network (particularly by cars through tyre and brake wear) by encouraging reduced use of private cars and more careful driving styles, encouraging manufacturers to produce tyres with less ecologically damaging components, and ensuring regular emptying of gullies.	Local Government Businesses Communities	N/A	N/A
Reduce the frequency of continuous and intermittent point source pollution from sewage discharges	Businesses	N/A	N/A
Reduce the quantity of pollutants entering the freshwater environment from wastewater treatment works	Businesses	N/A	N/A
Ensure correct management of private septic tanks to reduce leakage of pollutants into the environment; and investigate and resolve drain misconnections in homes	Communities	N/A	N/A
Reduce demand on water supply through more efficient use of water in homes, businesses, and in farming	Businesses Communities Farmers and landowners	N/A	N/A
Use constructed wetlands in wastewater treatment to reduce the amount of pollutants entering the freshwater environment, while providing wetland habitat	Businesses	N/A	N/A

Measures	Most relevant to	Land type	Indicative level of land-use impact for nature
Humane management of the non-native grey squirrel, potentially including the use of contraceptives to reduce breeding success	Farmers and landowners	Woodland	N/A
Stop or reduce the intensity of duck and pheasant releases, particularly close to protected sites*	Farmers and landowners	Countryside	N/A
Remove invasive plant species in woodland, including rhododendron Ponticum, cherry laurel and cotoneaster*	Farmers and landowners	Woodland	N/A
Humanely manage the impact of populations of the non-native muntjac deer, whose grazing can have severe negative impacts on woodland ecology, at the landscape level	Farmers and landowners	Countryside	N/A

Nature-based solutions are used to slow the flow of water and increase water storage in the landscape, thereby reducing the risk of flooding, and mitigating the impacts of drought and water scarcity

Measures	Most relevant to	Land type	Indicative level of land-use impact for nature
Cross-slope planting of trees and hedgerows to intercept flows of water, providing natural flood management and capturing pollutant run-off	Farmers and landowners	Countryside	Environmental stewardship
Create in-field wetland scrapes (shallow ponds that hold rain or flood water seasonally but stay damp for most of the year) and swales (shallow, linear, vegetated drainage features) to store and slow the flow of water, providing natural flood management	Farmers and landowners	Countryside	Environmental stewardship
Create offline and/or online ponds in the floodplain. Offline ponds are not connected to the watercourse, and can capture overland runoff. Online ponds are connected to the watercourse through a stream channel, storing floodwater temporarily and releasing it into the watercourse in a controlled manner.	Farmers and landowners	Countryside	Environmental stewardship

Measures	Most relevant to	Land type	Indicative level of land-use impact for nature
Add colour filters to LED streetlights to reduce their impact on insects, birds and bats.	Local Government	Gardens and other outdoor space and larger spaces; Development and regeneration; Streets; Gardens and other outdoor space	N/A
Minimise the use of lighting where safe to do so, including on the road network, and turning off public lighting for a time overnight.	Local Government Businesses Communities	Gardens and other outdoor space and larger spaces; Development and regeneration; Streets; Gardens and other outdoor space	N/A
Use motion-sensitive lights to reduce the extent of light pollution	Local Government Businesses	Streets	N/A

The region’s populations of Greater and Lesser Horseshoe bats, and other rare bat species are protected, and they have sufficient foraging habitat and landscape-scale connectivity to diversify the gene pool.

Measures	Most relevant to	Land type	Indicative level of land-use impact for nature
Sensitive cave use to protect roosting bats*	Communities	N/A	N/A
Install bat boxes and bat night roosts where this is suitable foraging habitat to extend bats’ foraging ranges and increase the resilience of bat populations	Businesses Communities Farmers and landowners	Countryside	N/A
Protect existing and create new dark, vegetated corridors to enhance connectivity and dispersal routes between key roosts	Local Government Farmers and landowners	Countryside	N/A

Relevant priority species

Adder
Barbastelle Bat
Chalkhill Blue
Common Dormouse
Glow worm
Grayling
Greater Horseshoe Bat
Lesser Horseshoe Bat
Mistletoe Marble
Small Blue
Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary