NEW nature reserves for wildlife and people is one of six bold new ideas for land between Oxford and Aylesbury.

New meadows, ponds and a five-mile corridor of woodland north of Oxford are also among the striking suggestions for projects across the 300km² area of Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) has published the list of attention-grabbing potential schemes following an 18-month consultation with locals.

The study was funded by Buckinghamshire Council in response to a growing number of threats to the natural environment in the Oxford-to-Cambridge arc from Government including HS2.

Read the full report here

Prue Addison, Conservation Strategy Director at BBOWT, said:"This area between Oxford, Bicester and Aylesbury is one of the most fantastic areas for wildlife in our region: we've got nationally-important habitats like ancient woodland and floodplain meadows which are home to rare species like Bechstein's bats, great crested newts and curlew - but these habitats are increasingly fragmented and threatened.

"Following our consultation with farmers, councils, business owners and residents, we can confirm that there is huge potential, with exciting new sources of funding, to connect the fantastic existing habitats and create a nature-rich 'green lung' between Bicester and Milton Keynes. The projects we are proposing can help us create more nature everywhere, capture carbon to tackle climate change and benefit farmers and the rest of the local economy."

The area in question includes the ancient Bernwood forest, the Otmoor basin and the wildlife-rich meadows of the Upper Ray – all nationally-important sites for wildlife. BBOWT, which manages 12 nature reserves in the area, has called its research project Reconnecting Bernwood, Otmoor and the Ray.

In its consultation, the Trust spoke to 28 landowners and farmers, 60 members of community groups and 132 other stakeholders from 44 organisations. The top concern they raised was development pressure and its impact on wildlife, communities and the landscape.

The Trust has now identified six project ideas which could form the basis of a landscape-scale transformation to benefit wildlife and people.

One of the more ambitious ideas is to restore the floodplain meadows around the River Ray between Otmoor and the village of Marsh Gibbon east of Bicester, creating an inland wetland complex that could one day be on the scale of the Cambridgeshire Fens and the Somerset Levels.

As well as providing new habitat for fish, wading birds, mammals and insects, these floodplain meadows could also significantly reduce the flood risk downstream by storing more water and slowing flows. They could enhance water quality in the Ray by blocking farm fertiliser run-off and provide recreational opportunities for the public.

Another of the ambitious projects would connect an eight kilometre stretch of woodlands north east of Oxford – including Brasenose Wood, Shotover Hill and Shabbington Woods – with new natural habitats and public rights of way. With thousands of homes planned in the area, the Trust says this idea offers huge opportunities to help new residents connect with nature, offering health and wellbeing benefits.

BBOWT and partners also want to look into the feasibility of creating new publicly-accessible nature reserves. This could help boost engagement with nature and help both counties to meet Natural England's Accessible Natural Green Space Standard.

Other ideas include restoring hedgerows and roadside verges for wildlife across the area and supporting a new group of 25 local farmers who are developing proposals to help wildlife, create habitats and support rural incomes.

To make these dreams a reality, the study identified numerous significant sources of funding.

One of the largest is the new Biodiversity Net Gain law which, from November, will require all developers to replace wildlife habitat they destroy with equally-good habitat plus an extra ten per cent. Most developers are expected to pay external organisations to do this work for them, and the report estimates that the market in this area could be worth £30 million in the next 14 years.

The Government's new Environmental Land Management scheme (ELMs,) which replaces EU agricultural funding, also offers farmers and landowners money to do environmental works for the public good such as planting trees and restoring hedgerows.

Gareth Williams, Buckinghamshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment, said:
“We welcome these exciting new proposals from BBOWT, having been pleased to provide feasibility funding for the research and engagement with stakeholders that led to them. Through ambitious initiatives that establish new nature reserves, restore meadows and wetlands, and connect corridors of ancient woodland, we can bring back wildlife, reduce flood risks, and provide residents with greater access to experience the wonders of nature.

“Together, with our partners, such as BBOWT, we can create a greener and more biodiverse Buckinghamshire and beyond for all to enjoy. This ties in with our Bucks Tree Mission – which aims to plant over 500,000 trees in the county within the next decade.”

This landscape-scale partnership ties in well with the development of Local Nature Recovery Strategies in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, which will support delivery of a nature recovery network across the country, providing a focus for achievement of national and local targets for nature recovery.

BBOWT is now offering to lead a new landscape-scale partnership to work with communities and businesses to try to bring some of the project ideas to life.

Find out more at bbowt.org.uk/reconnecting-bernwood-otmoor-and-ray