Van Dieman’s

This is a biodiversity enhancement project at Van Diemens, which is a 8.7 hectare lowland site on the banks of the River Ure and River Burn. The project has seen the creation of 58.39 habitat units and 1.96 hedgerow units. The land is adjacent to a section of existing natural woodland and is currently a pasture field used for sheep grazing. There are a few veteran trees, which will be retained. Biodiversity is currently very limited with a grass monoculture, and without any connectivity with the adjoining woodland or river banks which would enable biodiversity.

What is proposed is a mix of measures including :

• the creation of a broadleaved woodland, using slow growing native species;
• enhancing the grassland to create a lowland meadow;
• planting mixed scrub to create a buffer between the meadow and woodland; and
• enhancing existing hedgerows with additional planting

Creating this habitat will result in an increase of invertebrate and ground nesting bird populations over the 30-​year lifetime of the project and beyond. With the introduction of varied vegetation, rainwater run-​off will be reduced leading to lower levels of soil erosion and improvement in soil health. This will also contribute to river water quality improvement as flood peaks and sewage spills reduce, and with agricultural fertilisers or pesticides no longer being in use none will wash downstream from the site.

The project will create a space which can be enjoyed by visitors of the Swinton Estate. A permissive access route will be created through the site delivering social benefits to the local community.

Please visit our How page for details on how our biodiversity enrichment is assessed.