The northern buffer
What's here
The northern buffer is currently farmed with small areas of rough grassland along the margins and areas of scattered trees and hedgerows.
The northern buffer will be a large-scale habitat creation area situated along the northern boundary of the site. This will allow for links to existing fields and fenland to the north and connections to the other biodiversity priority areas.
17 hectares 17 hectares of grassland habitat will be created here and designed to connect into the former golf course area.
This area will focus largely on habitat creation, converting the existing arable fields to species-rich grasslands and parklands with peripheral wetland areas.
Aspirations for the ecology here
Within this area, existing species rich grassland will be retained and enhanced. These grassland habitats will complement and connect to the habitats created for newts along the eastern side of the site.
A number of species will benefit from this large expanse of rich grassland including lizards, butterflies, moths, bats and birds. Open areas will also be available for farmland birds such as skylark, meadow pipit and yellowhammer and mammals such as brown hares.
Grassland focused habitats will support local priority habitats and species and complement adjacent farmland habitats to the north. Public use will be managed to ensure sensitive ecological areas remain undisturbed, such as areas for ground nesting bird species. Planting trees and scrub species belts within this area will provide foraging opportunities for species such as badger and bats.
