Peri-urban Bristol and Market Towns
Relevant priorities here focus on increasing the area of accessible nature-rich green and blue space, as well as local food growing opportunities. This needs to be balanced with the potential impacts of a growing population on wildlife.
Expanding on the Common Connections project by restoring extensive grazing to local commons where it is supported by local communities, and creating an area of nature-rich green space for existing and new communities in Stockwood Vale, are both examples of how to bring nature closer to people. This is reflected in the mapping of focus areas.
It is important to ensure that any new developments include plenty of nature-rich green and blue space and help to connect existing nature-rich areas.
This area also offers opportunities for natural flood management interventions to reduce flooding of homes and community assets, for example at Keynsham Rugby Club and in the Siston Brook sub-catchment.
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 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 |
| Reduce the use of artificial sports pitches with ‘rubber crumb’ infill, which can leach into aquatic environments in significant quantities (and is also thought to be harmful to human health), in favour of more environmentally friendly options. | Local Government Businesses |
N/A | N/A |
| Reduce urban run-off by upgrading existing drainage infrastructure, installing sustainable urban drainage (SuDs) features, and ensuring new developments have suitable water management and drainage infrastructure* | Local Government Businesses |
Development and regeneration; Streets | N/A |
| Reduce other sources of plastic pollution, including single use plastics and other sources of microplastics (such as some cosmetic products) | Businesses Communities |
N/A | N/A |
| Include rainwater harvesting systems in new developments | Businesses | Development and regeneration | N/A |
| Use constructed wetlands to address pollution from urban and transport outfalls* | Businesses | N/A | N/A |
There are more and better-connected species-rich lowland calcareous grasslands on limestone soils that support specialist pollinator and insect populations, including the small blue, marsh fritillary, chalkhill blue and grayling butterflies.
| Measures | Most relevant to | Land type | Indicative level of land-use impact for nature |
| Restore species-rich calcareous 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 calcareous grassland with greater species diversity. | Farmers and landowners | Countryside | Landscape recovery |
| Arable reversion to species-rich calcareous grassland where land is unproductive or arable farming is financially unviable. | 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
New and existing development and infrastructure contributes positively towards wider ecological networks.
| Measures | Most relevant to | Land type | Indicative level of land-use impact for nature |
| Ensure new developments include plenty of (native) street trees, hedges, ponds and other wildlife-rich areas. | Businesses Local government |
Development and regeneration | N/A |
| Construct larger green bridges or underpasses over significant new roads to enable wildlife passage, and explore opportunities for green bridges over motorways or a-roads that sever key ecological networks | Businesses Local government |
Infrastructure | N/A |
| Fit wildlife tunnels underneath new and existing roads to enable wildlife to pass safely underneath | Businesses Local government |
Infrastructure | N/A |
| Fit mammal ledges into new and existing culverts or concrete pipes to enable wildlife, including otters, to safely pass through culverts or under bridges | Businesses Local government |
Infrastructure | 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 |
| 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 |
There is more community food growing close to where people live, including local agroecological/regenerative agriculture, allotments and community orchards.
| Measures | Most relevant to | Land type | Indicative level of land-use impact for nature |
| Create new allotment sites to provide residents with local, sustainable food growing opportunities | Local Government | Gardens and other outdoor space and larger spaces; Development and regeneration | N/A |
| Establish other local community food-growing enterprises, such as community farms | Local Government Communities |
Gardens and other outdoor space and larger spaces; Development and regeneration | N/A |
| Create community orchards, ideally with local varieties of fruits, to provide local food and benefit wildlife | Local Government Communities |
Gardens and other outdoor space and larger spaces; Development and regeneration | N/A |
Relevant priority species
- Glow worm
- Hedgehog
- House Martin
- House Sparrow
- Swallow