SEWBReC Products & Services Portfolio for Housing Associations by SEWBReC

SEWBReC PRODUCTS AND SERVICES PORTFOLIO: For Housing Associations

South East Wales Biodiversity Records Centre (SEWBReC) is the centre for the collation, management and dissemination of biodiversity data for south east Wales. SEWBReC’s aim is to make appropriate local biodiversity information available to all those who need it, to help ensure that decisions which affect local biodiversity are made using best available data. We have collated over 4 million individual biological records from a range of public and private sources. In January 2017, SEWBReC was accredited by the Association of Local Environmental Records Centres (ALERC). The accreditation assessment process ensures that SEWBReC meets a set of standards relating to its operations and functions, from our data protection policies to how we interact with local recorders. In the words of ALERC, ‘it outlines core levels of products and services that a LERC should provide to assist key users, and ensures the LERC is actively working with data holders to improve the availability and quality of data’. SEWBReC is also part of the Local Environmental Records Centres Wales (LERC Wales) consortium, and a member of the National Biodiversity Network (NBN). SEWBReC currently offers a wide range of innovative and tailored biodiversity information products and services to meet the needs of its users. Some examples of these are outlined in this portfolio, but we are also very keen to develop and expand our product range further, so please contact us to discuss any specific requirements.

Contents Accessing Data:

1. Bat & Roof-nesting Birds+ (BARB+) searches

2. Site specific searches (Species, Habitats & Designated Sites)

4-5

3. Species Distribution Data: 6

Ii) Invasive non-native species (INNS)

Front cover: Bluebell photo © Amy Hicks

i) Species Audits

Accessing Data: 1. Bat & Roof-nesting Birds+ (BARB+) Searches Are you undertaking works on structures or trees that may affect bats or their roosts? In Britain all bat species and their roosts are legally protected, by both domestic and international legislation. Did you know that you may be committing an offence if you deliberately capture, injure or kill a bat; intentionally or recklessly disturb a bat in its roost or deliberately disturb a group of bats; damage or destroy a bat roosting place (even if bats are not occupying the roost at the time); or intentionally or recklessly obstruct access to a bat roost?* SEWBReC can provide information about: 

Records of all bat species within a 2km radius of the grid reference,

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Records of all roof-nesting birds (i.e. House Sparrow, Swallow, House Martin, Swift, Barn Owl, Peregrine, Kestrel, Starling, Jackdaw, Pied Wagtail, Little Owl, Black Redstart, Redstart, Wren, Herring Gull and Lesser Black-backed Gull) within a 150m radius of the grid reference,

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Presence of Barn Owl within a 5km search buffer (Nb. Barn Owl records are not provided in the report or included on the GIS plot),

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All Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) designated for bat species within a 10km radius of the grid reference.

This product was developed in accordance with the Bat Conservation Trust's 'Bat Surveys for Professional Ecologists: Good Practice Guidelines, 2016'.

Photo: House sparrow © Dan Read

Photo: Bat © Steve Wadley

Example: Monmouthshire Housing Association send in BARB data requests on an annual basis to cover any works and management planned on their estate.

*Please refer to the various legislation for precise wording, this a summarized version only.

Accessing Data: 2. Site specific searches Bespoke data searches for species, designated sites, and habitats can be carried out using a buffer around a grid reference or a site boundary to specify the search area. This product is most appropriate for an in-depth ecological assessment of a group of existing properties or the site of a new development. The searches can be tailored to meet almost any requirements and can include:

Species Protected and Priority Species: EU and UK legally protected species, Section 7 species (Environment (Wales) Act, 2016), UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UKBAP) Priority Species, CITES species.

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Other Species of Conservation Concern: UK BAP Species of Conservation Concern, Red Data Book and Nationally Rare and Scarce species, EC Birds Directive, Bonn Convention Species.

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Locally Important Species: Local Biodiversity Action Plan (LBAP) species, locally rare and scarce species (as identified by local experts).

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All Species: All records held, including common and widespread species.

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Selected Species: Records of selected species according to user needs (e.g. all bat species).

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Schedule 9 (Wildlife & Countryside Act) & Other Alien/ Invasive Species: e.g. Japanese knotweed, Indian balsam, American signal crayfish, and American mink etc.

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Photo: Toad (Bufo bufo) © Dan Read

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International designations: e.g. Ramsar Sites, Special Areas of Conservation, Special Protection Areas.

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National designations: e.g. Sites of Special Scientific Interest, National Nature Reserves, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

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Local designations: e.g. Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC)/Wildlife Sites, Local Nature Reserves, Country Parks, Wildlife Trust Reserves, Regionally Important Geological Sites.

Habitats  Natural Resources Wales (NRW) 'Phase I' habitat

survey data.  NRW Phase II (woodland, saltmarsh and

grasslands) habitat survey data.  Ancient Woodland (NRW) boundaries.

Output can include:  Word (paper/electronic) or PDF report,  GIS plots (paper or jpeg),  Designated site citations (paper/electronic),  Excel spreadsheet,  GIS (ESRI or MapInfo) files,  Online viewers (e.g. Aderyn and eMapper, due late 2018). 5

Extract of search report and GIS plots for illustrative purposes only. © Crown copyright and database right 2018. All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey Licence Number 100043138 (2018). NRW designations data: © Crown copyright. All rights reserved. Natural Resources Wales, 100018813 (2018).

Designated Sites

Accessing Data: 3. Species distribution data SEWBReC offers a range of products that can illustrate species distribution and trends:

i) Species audits A species audit could be undertaken annually and used to update information on populations and distribution of Section 7/LBAP/protected species; it could be used to re-focus and refine surveys, land management and resources. Such an audit could be carried out regularly for the whole Housing Association estate. The audit could include:

 a simple species list,  information on the number of records and when it was first and last recorded,  dot distribution maps or GIS layers,  a sites list for species,  species accounts with trend analyses. Example: Section 7 species (Cuckoo) audit for Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council (December 2017)

Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus)

Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) Total Records: 144 2015 saw the first integration of BirdTrack data into the SEWBReC database, and this boosts the overall records giving a false impression of a peak in the species for that year. Similar numbers of records would be expected for 2016 and 2017 once they are incorporated into the database. Records are widely distributed in the local authority area.

ii) Distribution of invasive non-native species Example 1: In 2015, SEWBReC used aerial photos and online resources to identify stands of Japanese Knotweed (Fallopia japonica). Checks in the field were undertaken to ensure the methodology was reliable, the data was then entered into our online database, SEWBReCORD, and provided as a GIS layer to Bridgend County Borough Council. This information was used to effectively target problem areas with eradication/control programmes, and evaluate and monitor their efficacy. Example 2: In 2018, SEWBReC used a similar method to identify stands of invasive non-native species (INNS) within properties owned or managed by Valleys to Coast (V2C), a housing association in south Wales. A workshop was also provided to V2C staff covering the identification of Japanese knotweed and Himalayan balsam; and the use of PlantTracker, a plant recording app, and online data capture tools such as SEWBReCORD and iRecord.

Mapping Japanese knotweed in Bridgend using SEWBReCORD, 2015.

7 of Left photo: The Flora of Monmouthshire (Trevor Evans), and The Moths of Glamorgan (David Gilmore, David Slade & Barry Stewart). Right photo: Topography Monmouthshire map created by SEWBReC for the Flora of Monmouthshire (Trevor Evans).

South East Wales Biodiversity Records Centre (SEWBReC) 15 Talbot Road, Talbot Green, Pontyclun, CF72 8AD

www.twitter.com/sewbrec 8

Version 1.0 July 2018

Telephone: 01443 808896 Fax: 0843 265 2714 E-mail: info@sewbrec.org.uk Web: www.sewbrec.org.uk Follow us on Facebook & Twitter: www.facebook.com/sewbrec