Two new county wildlife sites for city

Plymouth has two new County Wildlife Sites, bringing its tally up to 26.

Ashery Wood and Warren Plantation and a verge at St Budeaux are the latest locations to have been given the status, which is designated by a panel of experts.

The new County Wildlife Site of Ashery Wood and Warren Plantation lies between the communities of Oreston, Plymstock and Hooe and is owned and managed by the Council.

It was given its status because of its woodland habitat and the presence of Monk’s Hood (a nationally scarce plant) and Common Broomrape (a Devon notable plant).

The site also has a long-standing bat roost, with Greater Horseshoe bats and Lesser Horseshoe bats being recorded from as early as 1958. These species of bats are rare and, like all species of bats in the UK, are protected by law.

Councillor Brian Vincent, Cabinet Member for Planning and the Environment, said: “People think planning is only about building, but it is also about protecting our green space and appreciating the nature that we find here in the city.”

This site is open to the public and is somewhere to relax, walk, play and explore nature. People can get to it from Mayer’s Way to the south or Kingfisher Wayto the north, which briefly joins the South West Coast Path.

A roadside grass verge of the A38 Plymouth Parkway near St Budeaux is home to the second new County Wildlife Site. The site is owned and managed by the Highways Agency and is not accessible to the public.

The site has been designated as a County Wildlife Site because of its population of Deptford Pink, a small flowering plant whose population has declined rapidly.

It is classified as a priority species in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan and is protected in the UK under the Wildlife and Countryside Act. There are records of this plant on site dating back to 2005, with as many as 450 flowering plants recorded.

For more information about these and other County Wildlife Sites visit www.plymouth.gov.uk/countywildlifesites