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At Cinderford Linear Park & Northern Quarter – a morning field meeting of general interest and birds of the area, meet at Winner Garage on the Forest Vale Industrial Estate – SO 645 151 at 11 am – to be led by Andrew Bluett. Resident birds breeding, migrants becoming established and possible early butterflies if the sun shines…! All welcome.

Following the post on 16^th April 2013 regarding the Dean Forest Voice meeting, the draft minutes of the Forest of Dean District Council have now been published and the questions put to the meeting have been answered. The answers have been placed immediately after each question to facilitate understanding, otherwise the questions and answers are exactly as recorded in the minutes:

 From the Draft Minutes of FODDC Meeting 11^th April 2013, (subject to approval at the next council meeting).

 The following questions have been received from Keith Morgan, 4 Wilkes Meadow, Broadwell, Coleford Glos GL16 7DT:

 Responses from Councillor Patrick Molyneux, Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Regeneration:

 Q a) Was the Council aware of the urgent instructions concerning the use of machinery and equipment from the HCA to their contractors to demolish buildings at the Northern United site and the steps they had to take to respect the many rare bats and their habitat which are protected by law?

 A a) The Council was not party to the instructions between the HCA and their contractor. It was aware of the requirements of the demolition notice issued by the Council and the subsequent licences granted by Natural England.

 Q b) If the Council were aware of this urgent action did they do anything to prevent it?

 A b) The Council has well established enforcement policies and protocols. Action would only be taken where it was expedient to do so.

 Q c) If not why not?

 A c) The Council had given consent for the building to be demolished. The applicant had stated that this would be done by November. Clearly the demolition occurred more recently but it was not expedient to take action as the activity had been licensed by staff at Natural England who were thus content for the work to go ahead.

 Q d) Was pressure put upon National England to revoke an earlier hand demolish licence and replace it with a licence to ‘demolish quickly’ by use of machinery?

 A d) No

 Q e) Was all this urgent action the result of having to meet funding deadlines?

 A e) The HCA as the landowner and developer has confirmed that this work is progressing in accordance with a detailed timetable. There is no funding package dependent on the demolition of these buildings.

 Q f) Was FoDDC involved in the reporting of these matters in the local Press and the threat of legal action?

 A f) No

 Q g) If FoDDC are innocent of all this and are appalled by it, what action do they propose to take?

 A g) The work being undertaken is to allow delivery of the Cinderford Regeneration Board’s vision. This will see the inward investment of some £100M, the creation of new jobs and new homes to meet local needs. We are determined that this vital development will be done sustainably and in accordance with stringent mitigation criteria. Members of this Council have given strong support for the regeneration of Cinderford as it will be good for both the town and the entire District. We are working very hard to achieve our aim.

 Supplementary question

 He (Mr Morgan) asked if the council was aware of the destruction to the bat colony recently caused by the demolition of buildings on the site.

 Response

 He (Cllr Molyneux) replied that the HCA had obtained all relevant licences from Natural England, which had been consulted throughout the process. At all stages the Council had followed the advice of experts. 

Comment: It would be very interesting to hear Natural England’s take on this situation but there isn’t a forum for that. The answers given by Councillor Molyneux are not entirely satisfactory, but they are hardly surprising. Perhaps he should be asked whether or not he beats his wife..?

Andrew Bluett attended a meeting of Dean Forest Voice group at Berry Hill Rugby Club on Monday 8^th April 2013 on behalf of GNS. The meeting, chaired by Keith Morgan had more than a dozen attendees including GNS members David Priddis (Bats), Simon Glover (Butterflies), Derek & Chris Foster. Also in attendance was Councillor Andrew Gardiner from Forest of Dean District Council, though in a personal capacity and not representing the local authority.

 The main business of the evening was to hear from Inspector Richard Boyles of Gloucestershire Police regarding the current state of affairs in respect of a number of alleged wildlife crime related offences all connected to the Cinderford Northern Quarter development site and the activities going on there.

Inspector Boyles summarised the alleged offences and incidents he was aware of and where possible gave an update on progress or outcomes to date. The alleged incidents included the following:

• Disturbance of Bats (20^th April 2012) – relating to the positioning of floodlights on a security cabin. The lights were repositioned after advice from the police, incident closed.
• Exploratory drilling on the route of the proposed spine road causing disturbance or harm to various species (including Great Crested Newts), the incident had resulted in some involvement by Dr Claire Dowding of Natural England – investigation ongoing. 
• Erection of Amphibian & Reptile exclusion fencing – allegedly unlawfully – it was concluded that this had been perpetrated by persons unknown, at an indeterminate date in the past, the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to proceed due to lack of definite evidence and not being in the public interest. Case closed. (NB – some of this fencing remains in place though it appears to be semi derelict at best). 
• Failure to maintain the buildings on the Northern United site in the interest of Bats and carrying out activities prejudicial to the well-being of the Bats utilising the buildings, no proper assessment in place, no management plan in place. It is the duty of the building owners to manage these matters in accordance with the law. Forest of Dean District Council own much of the site and are promoting the development. Insp. Boyles suggested that this was not a matter for the police to investigate, but should be dealt with by the licensing authority, i.e. Natural England.
• A pond containing Great Crested Newts unlawfully stocked with Carp, prejudicial to the well being of the Great Crested Newts. Investigation revealed that the pond was owned by the Forestry Commission, the fishing rights are leased to the Forest of Dean Angling Club and the stocking was carried out with the necessary permit in place and was therefore not unlawful. Crown Prosecution Service decided no further action required.
• Clay Extraction at Dams Green; Investigation revealed that this was carried out by Coleford Brick & Tile Company at a date in the past with the necessary permission granted by Gloucestershire County Council and was not unlawful. No further action.
• Demolition of buildings (allegedly containing Bats) on 22^nd March 2013 on the Northern United site in breach of the licence and conditions imposed, the police have consulted Natural England who are investigating whether or not an offence may have been committed.
• Other similar activity that has disturbed or caused harm to Great Crested Newts, Dormice etc and disturbance of Bats in Northern United buildings “C & H” – again being investigated by Natural England, expert opinion is being sought – investigation ongoing.
• Other allegations have been made regarding the Homes and Communities Agency and it’s responsibilities to comply with licensing provisions and conditions which are being investigated by the Homes and Communities Agency & Natural England.
• The overall planning process as carried out by Forest of Dean District Council is being looked into. Other allegations regarding the planning process are being internally investigated by Forest of Dean District Council.

 Inspector Boyles listened to a number of other comments and allegations regarding incidents which have taken place and have in some cases been witnessed. Whilst the mood of the meeting was not in any way hostile, he found that a considerable amount of further information from the meeting needed to be conveyed back to Sgt Simon Clement and PC John Palfrey who are the specialist Wildlife Crime Officers dealing with these matters and that feedback would be sought from those officers regarding some of the points made.

To be fair to the police, even the Wildlife Crime Officers are not expert in the way that special interest experts/recorders and GNS members are. They have to work on what they can discover, have to take advice from elsewhere and are limited in what they can investigate when, as is clearly shown above, there are matters that have to be investigated between the licensing authorities and other agencies.

Most of the meeting attendees voiced the opinion that they have no confidence in the way that the various agencies act between themselves, or that internal investigations will be carried out and concluded objectively and most importantly, that whilst some investigation is continuing, so is the work on site. It seems that no-one has the power to halt the works in spite of the whole web of offences alleged to have taken place.

It was also noted that whilst Natural England are supposed to be investigating a number of incidents, there has apparently been an official complaint lodged against Natural England on the grounds that they have not acted properly or have not acted at all in some respects. Similarly, the activities of the Homes and Communities Agency are being investigated on the grounds that they have acted improperly by not providing correct information to other agencies.

The attached items from the Forest of Dean & Wye Valley Review of 10^th April 2013 explain fully how the questions originally proposed to be put to the council by Dean Forest Voice were amended on the instructions of the council’s solicitor. These changes were reluctantly accepted by Dean Forest Voice in order that the revised questions could be put forward, rather than lose the opportunity to question the council at all. The most important change was the removal of the word “heavy” before machinery, which as can be seen from the news article, is of some importance.

The questions to be put to the council are as follows:-

1. Was the council aware of the urgent instructions concerning the use of machinery and equipment from the Homes and Communities Agency to their contractors to demolish buildings at the Northern United site, and the steps they had to take to respect the many rare Bats and their habitat which are protected by law?
2.  If the council were aware of this urgent action did they do anything to prevent it?
3. If not, why not?
4. Was pressure put upon Natural England to revoke an earlier hand demolish licence and replace it with a licence to “demolish quickly” by the use of machinery?
5. Was all this urgent action the result of having to meet funding deadlines?
6. Was Forest of Dean District Council involved in the reporting of these matters in the local Press and the threat of legal action?
7. If Forest of Dean District Council are innocent of all this and are appalled by this, what action do they propose to take?

In summary, serious questions are being raised about the means and methods being pursued to drive the proposed development on the Cinderford Northern Quarter site in spite of the perceived damage to wildlife and habitats which is believed to be contrary to EU and UK legislation, there is a serious lack of confidence in the way that the investigations are being handled and there is a real fear that by the time these things are brought to a conclusion, irreparable damage will have been done.

When the minutes of the council meeting are published, the answers to the above questions will be revealed.

In the meanwhile, certain people known to GNS who have first hand knowledge and expertise relating to these incidents are helping the police with their enquiries. Unless any member of GNS has specific and clear evidence of any wrongdoing, any thoughts, comments or questions relating to the Cinderford Northern Quarter site should be directed to the Forest of Dean District Council which is the “Competent Authority”. In this context though, the word “competent” should not necessarily be taken as a measure of the council’s abilities…

DFV & CNQ Meeting 8 4 13

At the recent British Dragonfly Society Recorders’ Conference and BRC Workshop at Wallingford in Oxfordshire, the meeting was opened with a special award. A signed Ruddy Darter print by artist Richard Lewington, illustrator of a number of field guides, was presented to Ingrid Twissell, British Dragonfly Society Vice-County Recorder for Gloucestershire, by British Dragonfly Society President Pam Taylor. It marked the one millionth dragonfly record to be sent to the Society and arose from Ingrid’s report of a Ruddy Darter at Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire on 9th August 2012.

This landmark achievement would not have been possible without the dedicated efforts of many hundreds of volunteer recorders throughout the UK. Back at the start of 2008 when the British Dragonfly Society launched recording for the new dragonfly atlas, the database held just over half a million dragonfly records. To double that total to a staggering one million records in just five years is a phenomenal achievement.

Thanks were expressed to all contributors to the Dragonfly database.

Ingrid with her signed Richard Lewington Print

To read more, follow the link below.

http://www.british-dragonflies.org.uk/content/bds-recorders-conference-report

The speaker at the final indoor meeting of the GNS Cirencester Branch indoor season 2012/13 will not after all be Dr Tim Sellars, who is indisposed, but the GNS Membership secretary Andrew Bluett, who has stepped into the breach at short notice, and will speak on “Old ornithology in Gloucestershire”, a subject he has recently tackled in a fascinating article in the latest issue of “The Gloucestershire Naturalist”.  It should be fascinating – all welcome.

Members will know that the GNS Cirencester Branch holds a regular programme of indoor meetings throughout the winter season.  All members of GNS (whether or not they are from the Cirencester area) are of course welcome and indeed encouraged to attend.  The last meeting of the 2012/13 season will take place at 7.30 p.m. next Friday 12 April at the Watermoor Church Hall, Trinity Road, Cirencester GL7 1NE.  The speaker on the subject of “Camouflage and Mimicry” will be Dr Timothy Sellars.

Ken Cservenka, who (as noted at the recent GNS Annual General Meeting) has been the much appreciated organiser of these indoor meetings for many a long year, recalls that Dr Sellars is making a return visit, as he has previously spoken to great acclaim.  Ken comments: “We first met Dr Timothy Sellars when the Painswick Bird Club invited the GNS to hold a joint meeting at their venue in Painswick. This was held in November 2011 when Dr Seller travelled from his home in Dorking, Surrey to give his lecture entitled “Senses and Non-senses of Birds”.

The Cirencester Branch looks forward to welcoming you to the meeting.  Do come and end the season with a bang!

The preparatory works for the Cinderford Northern Quarter development continue in spite of the protests and it would appear in defiance of the legal protection of some species which inhabit the development area.

On the 28th March 2013 “The Forester” reported that for the second time of asking Police were called to investigate alleged breaches of the law in respect of protected species, specifically this time Bats in the old Northern United Colliery buildings. The next edition of The Forester on 3rd April carried a letter from Councillor Andrew Gardiner summing up his view of the events that allegedly took place.

IF the planning process is followed correctly, IF the mitigating measures required are put in place and IF the development work is carried out with due regard to the law and with consideration for the protected species in and around the area of work, there can be little complaint. However, clearly there are many who believe that these IFs are not being dealt with as they should be and that vested interests are riding rough-shod over the land, the wildlife and public opinion.

Dean Forest Voice are holding thir next meeting on Monday April 8th, and following correspondence with Gloucestershire Police on the subject of the Northern United Site, Supt. Phil Haynes has asked Inspector Richard Boyle to attend and update DFV on the situation in terms of police action and to answer questions that may be to put to him. This is not an open meeting, however, I will attend if possible on behalf of GNS and will be facinated to hear what the Police have to say. Given some of the people who will also be there, I suspect the Inspector will find it a less than comfortable experience.

The two items from The Forester are attached for information.

CNQ Forester Letter 3.4.13

CNQ Forester Article 28 3 13

Following my article in GNS News, December 2012, it is noticeable that Wild Boar damage to the greensward, roadside verges and other open grasslands in the Forest of Dean is more severe than ever before during this winter period. A drive through the forest yesterday revealed a significant level of damage in many places, and in areas where I had not seen such extensive damage before.

A brief item in the Daily Telegraph on Saturday 30th March was headed “Raising Wild Boar cull limit could curb damage”. I quote:

“The Forestry Commission has called for a bigger Wild Boar cull in the Forest of Dean as damage reaches “deplorable” levels. Kevin Stannard, deputy surveyor in the Dean, said the population is approaching 600. In the most recent cull, 78 Boar were shot and 24 were killed in traffic accidents, surpassing the target of 100 by two. The number (to be killed) needs to rise to keep things in check, said Mr Stannard.”

Considering how the population of the Dean used to voice their concerns at the damage to refuse bags and the deposition of faeces by Sheep wandering around the byways and urban areas, it is hardy surprising that the tide of sympathy for Boar appears to be on the turn.

At the Annual General Meeting of the Gloucestershire Naturalists’ Society, a team from Butterfly Conservation reported on monitoring of Lepidoptera at the newly-purchased reserve at Rough Bank (see separate report on the AGM below).    The link below gives details of a press release on butterfly recording in 2012 by Butterfly Conservation, the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme:

http://butterfly-conservation.org/48-3680/2012-a-disaster-year-for-uk-butterflies.html

The full text of the press release is as follows:

2012: A Disaster Year For UK Butterflies

Washout 2012 was the worst year for UK butterflies on record with 52 out of the 56 species monitored suffering declines, a scientific study today revealed.

Some of our rarest species such as the fritillaries bore the brunt of the second wettest year on record and now face the real threat of extinction in some parts of the UK.

Last year’s relentless rain and cold created disastrous conditions for summer-species in particular as they struggled to find food, shelter and mating opportunities; butterfly abundance plummeted to a record low as a result and 13 species suffered their worst year on record.

The critically endangered High Brown Fritillary fell by 46%, the vulnerable Marsh Fritillary was down 71% and the endangered Heath Fritillary saw its population plummet by 50% in comparison to 2011.

Many of our most threatened butterflies were already in a state of long-term decline prior to the 2012 deluge. There are now real fears that these already struggling species could become extinct in some parts of the UK as a result of last year’s wet weather.

Hairstreaks did particularly badly last year – the Black Hairstreak, one of the UK’s rarest species, saw its population fall by 98%. The Green Hairstreak was down 68%, the White-letter Hairstreak fell by 72% and the Brown Hairstreak, slipped by 34%.

Many common species struggled. The Common Blue plummeted by 60%, the Brown Argus collapsed by 73% and the Large Skipper fell by 55%.

The widespread ‘Whites’  including Green-Veined White and the two ‘Cabbage Whites’, Large White and Small White saw their populations tumble by more than 50%. The Orange-tip fell by 34%.

The alarming slide of garden favourite the Small Tortoiseshell continued with its population slipping 37% from 2011 figures.

Data was gathered by the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS) jointly led by Butterfly Conservation and the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH).

Only four species saw their populations increase. The grass-feeding Meadow Brown was up 21% and the Scotch Argus, which thrives in damp conditions, rose by 55%.

Dr Tom Brereton, Head of Monitoring at Butterfly Conservation, said: “2012 was a catastrophic year for almost all of our butterflies, halting progress made through our conservation efforts in recent years.  Butterflies have proved before that given favourable conditions and the availability of suitable habitat they can recover, but with numbers in almost three-quarters of UK species at a historically low ebb any tangible recovery will be more difficult than ever.”

UKBMS has run since 1976 and involves thousands of volunteers collecting data every week throughout the summer from more than 1,000 sites across the UK.

CEH butterfly ecologist Dr Marc Botham said: “Despite the horrific weather in 2012 over 1,500 dedicated volunteers still managed to collect data from over a thousand sites across the UK. Their amazing efforts enable us to assess the impacts of wet summers on butterfly diversity.”

The UKBMS is operated by the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and Butterfly Conservation and funded by a multi-agency consortium including the Countryside Council for Wales, Defra, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Forestry Commission, Natural England, the Natural Environment Research Council and Scottish Natural Heritage. The UKBMS is indebted to all volunteers who contribute data to the scheme.

Butterfly Conservation is the largest charity of its type in the world. Our aim is the conservation of butterflies, moths and their habitats. We run conservation programmes for more than 100 threatened species and manage over 30 nature reserves. www.butterfly-conservation.org

The Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) is the UK’s Centre of excellence for integrated research in the land and freshwater ecosystems and their interaction with the atmosphere. CEH is part of the Natural Environment Research council, employs more than 450 people at four major sites in England, Scotland and Wales, hosts over 150Phd students and has an overall budget of about £35m. CEH tackles complex environmental challenges to deliver practicable solutions so that future generations can benefit from a rich and healthy environment. www.ceh.ac.uk You can follow the latest developments in CEH research via http://www.ceh.ac.uk/rss.xml

The March 2013 issue of GNS News is now available, with articles including a consideration of the ecological consequences of the proposed Cinderford Northern Quarter development, the Red-Data fungus Stephanospora caroticolor, discovery of the harvestman Opilio canestrinii in Gloucestershire, a study of Hobbies, and (cover story) Willow Tits in the Forest of Dean.