Buried in the draft of the 177-page Wiltshire and Swindon Local Nature Recovery Strategy, a section on the Bristol Avon Vale concludes: “Semington Brook, a tributary of the Avon, supports a free-living beaver population, contributing to wetland restoration and biodiversity.”
Europe’s largest rodents are native to the UK but were hunted to extinction 400 years ago. In February, the government announced that applications by conservation organisations to return beavers English rivers will be accepted.
But it would seem that rather waiting for a formal application to be made via the appropriate channels, beavers have taken it upon themselves to establish at least one colony in the county using the region’s network of joined-up rivers, after being spotted in the Bristol Avon in 2020.
The report says the reintroduction of beavers, whose dams slow fast-flowing rivers, could help reduce instances of flooding in vulnerable communities like Malmesbury, Lacock, Bradford on Avon, and Salisbury.
The Nature Recovery Strategy, which sets out how flora and fauna in Swindon and Wiltshire will be helped and encouraged to thrive, will be considered by Wiltshire Council’s Environment Select Committee on Tuesday (September 9) before going to Cabinet in October for adoption.
The Department for the Environment has tasked Wiltshire Council with leading the development of the strategy for both Wiltshire and Swindon as one of 48 strategies across England.
Once published, the strategy will be used by a wide range of organisations, businesses and communities including town and parish councils, planning officers, developers, residents, conservation organisations, farmers and foresters.
The strategy aims to set clear priorities for nature recovery at the local level, map the best places to create, enhance, and restore habitats, and Identify the most effective measures to deliver these priorities.
The report has identified 24 nature recovery priorities.
The great bustard (Image: Rudmer Zwerver)
Nine strategically significant mapped habitat priorities include the Upper Thames Clay Vale – home to the UK’s largest population of snake’s-head fritillary at Cricklade; Swindon Ridge – an important habitat for newts; Bradon Forest – with its significant population of Bechstein’s bats; and Salisbury Plain – where the great bustard has been successfully reintroduced after being hunted to extinction in the 1800s.
Nine mapped priority species include various species of bat, lapwing and stone curlew, Eurasian curlew, wart biter bush cricket, Duke of Burgundy butterfly, juniper, and the great bustard – the county’s emblem.
The report also explains how conservation and nature recovery will help the county adapt to climate change. Ancient woodlands like the Savernake Forest near Marlborough, it says, are important for storing carbon, while urban trees in places like Swindon provide shade and cooling – crucial as summers become hotter and dryer.
The report also sets out the importance of working with farmers. Seventy two percent of Wiltshire – the most farmed county in the South West – is farmland, making sustainable agriculture vital.
The report also examines the impact of invasive species, including the American mink, which has contributed to a 94 percent decline in water vole populations, the signal crayfish, which competes with the native white-clawed crayfish, and the Asian hornet), a voracious predator of honeybees and other pollinators whose presence has been confirmed in the county.
The report’s authors say: “The LNRS is integral for delivering nature recovery for nature’s own sake and the many wider environmental benefits and it delivers for people, climate and the economy.
“It will help to improve quality of life, reduce costs long term and attract investment into the region.”