River Yeo Rolling Valley Farmland
This is an area of low-lying farmland that sits between wooded ridges and the North Somerset Levels and Moors. It is an important foraging area for greater and lesser horseshoe bats, helping to connect populations to the north and south, and so improving the amount and quality of foraging habitat for bats and other wildlife is particularly important here.
Another relevant priority is reducing agricultural pollution into the Congresbury Yeo and its tributaries, which ultimately drains into protected sites in the NSLM ditch network.
Much of this land is Grade 1 or 2 agricultural land, so measures that benefit wildlife while maintaining food production (such as improving the management of hedgerows for wildlife) are particularly relevant here.
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 |
There are more and better-connected species-rich neutral grasslands, including traditional hay meadows, that help support resilient, diverse pollinator and insect populations.
| Measures | Most relevant to | Land type | Indicative level of land-use impact for nature |
| Restore species-rich neutral grassland on infertile soils and/or adjacent to existing species-rich grasslands. | Farmers and landowners | Countryside | Landscape recovery |
| Convert improved grassland or enhance ‘semi-improved’ grassland to species-rich neutral grassland with greater species diversity. | Farmers and landowners | Countryside | Landscape recovery |
| Arable reversion to species-rich neutral grassland where land is unproductive or arable farming is financially unviable. | Farmers and landowners | Countryside | Landscape recovery |
| Restore species-rich lowland meadows with appropriate ongoing management. | Farmers and landowners | Countryside | Environmental Stewardship |
| Measures | Most relevant to | Land type | Indicative level of land-use impact for nature |
| Restore and establish traditional orchards, including community orchards, with a focus on maintaining locally distinctive varieties | Farmers and landowners | Countryside | Landscape recovery |
| Protect existing traditional orchards and continue to manage them well for wildlife | Farmers and landowners | Countryside | Landscape recovery |
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 |
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 |
The extent and quality of our hedgerow network for wildlife is improved, helping to connect wildlife-rich sites.
| Measures | Most relevant to | Land type | Indicative level of land-use impact for nature |
| Manage hedgerows in a thick and tall condition for wildlife, following best practice set out by Hedgelink and only cutting every three years on rotation | Farmers and landowners | Countryside | Environmental stewardship |
| Create/restore hedgerows where they have previously existed, or where they would fit in with the existing field system | Farmers and landowners | Countryside | Environmental stewardship |
| Measures | Most relevant to | Land type | Indicative level of land-use impact for nature |
| Plant field trees within hedgerows where they are not already present | Farmers and landowners | Countryside | Environmental stewardship |
| Protect existing trees within the farmed landscape, particularly veteran and ancient trees, and consider fencing off ancient and veteran trees to enable new trees to grow | Farmers and landowners | Countryside | Environmental stewardship |
| Create shelterbelts (windbreaks) made up of trees to protect livestock and crops from inclement weather | Farmers and landowners | Countryside | Environmental stewardship |
| Incorporate trees in grazing systems (silvopasture). This could include trees that can produce a fruit or nut crop alongside continued livestock grazing | Farmers and landowners | Countryside | Environmental stewardship |
| Establish agroforestry systems alongside crop production (silvoarable systems) | Farmers and landowners | Countryside | Environmental stewardship |
The farmed landscape is more hospitable and permeable to wildlife, especially to pollinators and to farmland birds that have suffered historic declines.
| Measures | Most relevant to | Land type | Indicative level of land-use impact for nature |
| Provide graded margins up to a thick hedgerow to create nesting sites for farmland birds such as linnets and yellowhammers | Farmers and landowners | Countryside | Environmental stewardship |
| Establish beetle banks and other areas for natural predators within arable farming | Farmers and landowners | Countryside | Sustainable farming |
| Establish flower-rich grass margins, blocks, or in-field strips | Farmers and landowners | Countryside | Sustainable farming |
| Incorporate nectar strips and/or herb-rich arable leys into arable rotations | Farmers and landowners | Countryside | Sustainable farming |
| Sow a wild bird seed mixture to provide a seed-rich winter cover crop, and/or leave unsprayed and unharvested arable headlands to provide food for farmland birds | Farmers and landowners | Countryside | Sustainable farming |
| Leave overwinter stubble on cropped fields, and sow spring-sown crops to provide food for farmland birds | Farmers and landowners | Countryside | Sustainable farming |
| Leave areas unsprayed in arable fields to support arable wildflowers, particularly in areas where important species are present | Farmers and landowners | Countryside | Sustainable farming |
| Create skylark plots (unsown squares) in arable fields | Farmers & landowners | Countryside | Sustainable farming |
| Create/restore and properly manage farmland ponds for wildlife, including great-crested newt | Farmers & landowners | Countryside | Environmental stewardship |
| Protect existing swallow and house martin nesting sites, and provide artificial nesting sites where there is a lack of potential nesting sites | Farmers & landowners | Countryside; Gardens and other outdoor space and larger spaces; Development and regeneration; Gardens and other outdoor space | N/A |
There is more sustainable and regenerative agriculture that minimises the use of potentially harmful inputs including pesticides and artificial fertilisers, and regenerates the health and carbon stock of soils.
| Measures | Most relevant to | Land type | Indicative level of land-use impact for nature |
| Use sustainable soil management techniques, including undersowing of crops, reduced or no tillage, reducing compaction etc. | Farmers and landowners | Countryside | Sustainable Farming |
| Establish a multi-species winter cover crop to protect soil from erosion and compaction, and improve soil biology | Farmers and landowners | Countryside | Sustainable Farming |
| Reduce the use of pesticides through integrated pest management, including use of companion crops; and leave areas unsprayed to support arable wildflowers | Farmers and landowners | Countryside | Sustainable Farming |
| Use precision farming techniques to reduce the use of pesticides | Farmers and landowners Communities |
Countryside | Sustainable Farming |
| Reduce or eliminate the application of fertiliser or manure on grassland, including through the use of precision farming techniques | Farmers and landowners Local Government |
Countryside | Sustainable Farming |
| Provide a more species-rich herbal ley for grazing livestock in place of an intensive perennial rye grass sward | Farmers and landowners | Countryside | Sustainable Farming |
| Reduce the use of antibiotics and worming products in livestock, to improve the value of their dung to wildlife | Farmers and landowners | Countryside | Sustainable Farming |
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 |
| 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
- Bechstein`s Bat
- Greater Horseshoe Bat
- House Martin
- Lesser Horseshoe Bat
- Mistletoe Marble
- Swallow