PRESS RELEASE REGARDING THE A417 ‘MISSING LINK’ ROAD SCHEME
From: Cotswolds Conservation Board, Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, National Trust and Natural England

Highways England has announced its revisions to the A417 Missing Link road scheme, addressing some of the concerns raised in feedback during the October 2019 public consultation.

The Cotswolds Conservation Board, Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, National Trust and Natural England are urging Highways England to use this opportunity to ensure the revised road scheme not only addresses safety and congestion issues but also brings the best outcomes for local communities and benefits the natural beauty, diverse wildlife and unique heritage of the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding National Beauty (AONB).

Each of the four organisations has proactively engaged with the scheme since it was first proposed and, although collaborative work has resulted in positive changes, there is now an opportunity to ensure the design of the new road meets the landscape-led vision, objectives and design principles that have been agreed by Highways England and other stakeholders, as well as the Government’s desire to ‘build better, build greener’.

The importance of nature and outdoor spaces to our health and wellbeing has become even clearer in recent months. So, it’s now more important than ever that we work hard to safeguard opportunities for everyone to explore and enjoy the countryside. This is a special environment that deserves protection. The organisations would like to see the following improvements:

1. People – as well as creating a safer, less congested route, people should have more opportunity to explore and enjoy this outstanding landscape, its ecology and heritage. Existing footpaths and rights of way must be improved so they are accessible for all and new recreational opportunities developed for local communities and visitors.

2. Landscape – to achieve the landscape-led vision, the revised scheme should include mitigation to minimise the adverse impact of new infrastructure, reverse biodiversity net loss, and strengthen landscape connectivity. Equal care should be paid to mitigation measures as to planning requirements.

3. Wildlife – Highways England should maximise opportunities for nature to thrive. Protecting irreplaceable habitats and providing relevant connections so that species can travel across the landscape will avoid negative impacts on biodiversity, strengthen ecological resilience and enhance the special environment of the Cotswolds AONB. Gloucestershire’s economy and people’s quality of life depends upon the health of its natural assets and yet they are declining at unprecedented rate.

The Cotswolds Conservation Board, Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, National Trust and Natural England, alongside other key stakeholders, are all eager to help Highways England continue to seek the best way to deliver a landscape-led scheme that leaves a positive legacy for future generations, the landscape, wildlife and heritage.

This is a once in a generation opportunity to resolve the challenges of the present road and protect the environment within which it sits. Further collaborative thinking and a true commitment to ‘build greener’ will ensure that the huge potential here can be fully realised.

ENDS
Background Information:
Information about the A417 ‘Missing Link’ scheme can be found on Highways England’s website.

Cotswolds Conservation Board:
The Cotswolds was designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in 1966 in recognition of its rich, diverse and high-quality landscape. The Cotswolds AONB is looked after by the Cotswolds Conservation Board – an independent organisation established in 2004 which has 37 members – 15 nominated by local authorities, 8 by parish councils and 14 appointed by the Secretary of State. The Cotswolds is the third largest protected landscape in England after the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks and represents 10% of the total AONB area in the UK. It covers 2,038 square kilometres (790 square miles), stretching from Warwickshire and Worcestershire in the north, through Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire, down to Bath and Wiltshire in the south.

Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust:
Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust (GWT) works closely with local communities, landowners and partners to deliver much-needed conservation work across more than 1000 hectares of nature reserves, and within the wider landscape of Gloucestershire. This vital work safeguards these remaining special wild places and drives nature’s recovery, working towards a future where the countryside thrives once more with wildlife, wildflowers, trees, butterflies, insects and animals. The charity also delivers a vast range of events and projects across the county, as well as providing free public access to its nature reserves, enabling people from all backgrounds to spend time outdoors and get closer to nature.

National Trust:
The National Trust is a conservation charity founded in 1895 by three people who saw the importance of our nation’s heritage and open spaces and wanted to preserve them for everyone to enjoy. Entirely independent of Government, the National Trust looks after more than 250,000 hectares of countryside, 778 miles of coastline and
hundreds of special places across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The National Trust works in partnership with Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust to look after and protect Crickley Hill, its archaeology, limestone grassland, ancient woodland and diverse wildlife.

Natural England:
Established in 2006, Natural England is the government’s independent adviser on the natural environment. Our work is focused on enhancing England’s wildlife and landscapes and maximising the benefits they bring to the public.

For further press information and images please contact:
Cotswolds Conservation Board – Alana.Hopkins@cotswolds-nl.org.uk
Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust – tessa.hirst@gloucestershirewildlifetrust.co.uk
National Trust – Sue.Wharmby@nationaltrust.org.uk
Natural England – peter.w.loat@naturalengand.org.uk

A grassroots project will see Gloucestershire people growing new trees to replace the hundreds of thousands being wiped out by ash dieback.

BBC Radio Gloucestershire and Cotswolds AONB will lead an army of volunteers to grow at least 2,020 saplings at home over the coming year in a scheme dubbed ‘Ourboretum’.

According to the Woodland Trust, 95% of British ash trees will vanish over the coming years because of ash dieback, an incurable disease. Gloucestershire is home to hundreds of thousands of ash trees – it is the third most common tree in the county – and experts fear the loss could have a disastrous effect on the landscape and wildlife.

Ourboretum, launched today, will begin replacing the lost ash trees with oak, beech and hazel.

BBC Radio Gloucestershire communities journalist Chris Sandys said: “Our landscape is part of what makes Gloucestershire such a great place to live and it’ll be so sad to see it torn apart by ash dieback. But tying our communities with our countryside for generations to come is a thrilling prospect.

“Ourboretum is about getting people from all over Gloucestershire outside, enjoying our county and growing together for the good of the next generation.

“We plan to plant seeds to grow at least 2,020 trees in 2020 and we need your help.”

Garden designer and broadcaster Chris Beardshaw, an Ourboretum ambassador, added: “Ourboretum is such a fabulous idea. It’s beautifully simple; we go and collect seeds and we create a new generation of trees and woodlands in our own communities for our children and their children to enjoy.

“For me, being an ambassador for Ourboretum is a huge privilege. Growing trees is what got me started in my love of not just horticulture and designing landscapes, but of the countryside and really celebrating who we are as a nation and our links to the countryside.”

How to get involved:

• Volunteers will be asked to collect seeds, during autumn, using the guidance online
• Visit www.bbc.co.uk/ourboretum to find more information and tips for growing seeds at home
• These home-grown saplings will then be planted across Gloucestershire next year. BBC Radio Gloucestershire and the AONB will identify locations where the fledgling trees can be planted and aim to log each one to create a permanent record of where they are growing

Mark Connelly, Land Management Officer at Cotswolds Conservation Board who look after the AONB, said: “We’re delighted to be working with BBC Radio Gloucestershire to launch Ourboretum. The loss of ash trees across the landscape in Gloucestershire will leave a devastating mark. The more trees we can plant to replace those we lose, the better chance we will have to benefit both the landscape and the wildlife that lives in it.”

To find out more contact trees@bbc.co.uk or go to www.bbc.co.uk/ourboretum

ENDS

Notes to editor:

For more information contact Jack Pitts on 07834 845545 or jack.pitts@bbc.co.uk

Following the government’s review of the Covid-19 situation on 11/5/20, we would like to offer an update from the Cotswolds Conservation Board. The government has said that we should all still try to stay at home as much as possible, but that we can also now enjoy more outdoor exercise (with members of our own households), and we may travel to open spaces. This is good news – it’s good for our bodies and our minds to get outside and connect with nature.

With this in mind, we’d like to remind those who are looking to enjoy the countryside on their doorstep of the following:

1. We must still all observe social distancing guidelines, even outdoors and in the countryside.
   If a walking path is narrow, wait for others to pass. Be patient.
2. Respect those who live here.
   Many of our countryside residents and landowners are older and fit into the ‘vulnerable’ category of those at risk from coronavirus. Help protect their health by remembering good hygiene around gates and stiles, being considerate about where you park, and looking out for and adhering to any route diversions (which may be in place to protect those on farms, for example asking walkers not to go through the yard, or not to go past the house etc).
3. Plan your visit – try to avoid the honeypot locations (towns and countryside); research where you’re going to park; and check if the locations and car parks you’re heading to are open. Download self-guided walking routes.
4. Remember the Countryside Code. Stick to it. If you don’t know it, learn it here.
5. Tread carefully – remember that during lockdown, nature has reclaimed space!
   Please be very careful not to disturb wildlife. This might include ground-nesting birds, wildflowers, or animals that may have moved into areas unexpectedly during lockdown.
6. Please use your common sense – keep dogs on leads and pick up their mess, don’t release sky lanterns, don’t have barbecues or bonfires, don’t drop any litter.
7. Many local businesses are still closed – plan ahead, and bring food and drink with you…but please take your litter home!
8. Many toilet facilities will be closed – please check before visiting.

Take your time, and breathe – these are strange times, but we can take this opportunity to slow down, understand, enjoy and appreciate our surroundings more. Nature has a wonderful ability to help us to heal, and we should make the most of that, and be grateful for it.

At the time of writing this, the government is still urging us all to stay at home this Easter. Our collective effort is crucial – we must all continue to follow advice and guidance on how to slow the spread of Covid-19 and look after our NHS, and one another.

If you are able to access outdoor green spaces, there’s no doubt that being outside and having the opportunity to connect with nature is good for us. Many of our colleagues and friends in other nature and conservation organisations have been posting up lots of ideas of how to do this. We’ve put together a little collection of these. From wildlife surveying and identifying, to building bug hotels, to going on virtual safaris, we hope you manage to enjoy some of what nature has to offer from the comfort of your home.

It’s vital that we do that in line with government advice though, so if you need a reminder on the guidelines, please click here for the official advice on accessing green spaces.

And remember: stay home, protect the NHS, save lives.

• Create a haven for butterflies in your garden – and learn to identify visitors
• Count pollinators in your garden. All you need is 10 mins to watch insects. To Learn how, and see where to send your results
• Become a back garden bird watcher! RSPB have a fantastic online bird identification tool. See how many different birds you can spot! Or, if you can hear the birds but not see them – use their birdsong identifier instead!
• Get the buzz! Bumblebee Conservation has a great learning zone online with absolutely loads of fun activities and games for children and families.
• Do you love whales and dolphins? Head over to ORCA’s at-home interactive lessons, Q&A sessions, and activities.
• See what you can do at home to help nature and wildlife with NatureHood’s online guide 
• Is the night sky really dark where you live? If it is, and the weather is clear, can you see the stars? Wrap up warm, take a hot drink into the garden, and learn more about planets, stars, and constellations, and how to identify them here.
• Want to sit down to watch or listen to something? There are plenty of episodes of BBC Radio 4’s Costing the Earth available on the iplayer – across a huge range of subjects!
• Listen to the nation’s favourite, Sir David Attenborough, read us The Peregrine by JA Baker. A masterpiece of nature writing.
• Go on a three hour safari without leaving the house! Wild Earth has posted a brilliant safari experience on YouTube
• Wildlife Watch on You Tube – Wednesday sessions for kids to learn about identifying bird song, fun crafts, wildlife gardening & lots more
• Stay wild at home with great ideas from Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust 
• Become a Nature Doctor and turn your back garden into an Insect A&E with Dr Amir Khan
• Help Butterfly Conservation with their ongoing mission to help butterflies and moths in the UK by letting them know what you’ve seen in your garden! They’ve even developed an app to make surveying easier!

Image shown by Simon Smith.

It’s a simple message, and we should all be following the guidelines set out by the Government. If you don’t know them yet, or you aren’t clear, have another look here.

Under normal circumstances, we would be encouraging everybody to get outside, get some fresh air, get walking, start exploring. But these aren’t normal circumstances. At the moment, we would urge everyone to do the opposite: stay at home, don’t drive unless it’s essential, do your part. There have been a number of reports locally and nationally of people driving to enjoy beauty spots or to access their exercise, or gathering in groups in parks or areas of countryside. Please don’t do this. Please stay in your local area to get out in the fresh air, or to go for a walk/run/cycle. Please be responsible.

When all this is over, the national landscapes of the UK, our National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, will be throwing their arms wide open to welcome visitors back. But for now, we are all asking everyone to

Stay at Home. Protect the NHS. Save Lives.

Cotswolds Conservation Board is closely monitoring the situation with regards to the outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). This includes close attention to the latest guidance from the WHO (World Health Organisation), as well as from UK authorities.

In light of Government guidance for the Covid-19 pandemic to avoid non-essential social contact, we have taken steps to cancel the Cotswold Wardens walks programme from end of the day on Thursday March 19 until further notice.

Please check the website for updates, but subject to any changing advice, please try out one of our many self-guided walks that can be found at https://www.cotswolds-nl.org.uk/visiting-and-exploring/walking/self-guided-walks/

Photograph of Guiting Quarry (Copyright: Paul Keyte, The Johnston Quarry Group)

The Cotswolds Conservation Board has initiated and organised a quarry stakeholder meeting relating to the cluster of eight quarries between Naunton and Toddington in the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The meeting was held on 29^th January at Toddington Village Hall and was attended by 43 participants, including representatives from the quarry operators, parish councils, local authorities and the Conservation Board.

One of the special qualities of the Cotswolds AONB that makes the area so unique and distinctive is the unifying character of the limestone geology, including its use as a building material. However, ensuring a sufficient supply of this building material depends on having a sufficient level of quarrying within the AONB. In addition, there is demand for this stone as a building material outside the AONB, as well as demand for other quarry products, such as aggregate and lime.  The challenge is to get the right balance between providing these quarry products and conserving and enhancing the natural beauty of the AONB as a whole.

Getting the right balance is particularly challenging in the Naunton-Toddington area, where eight quarries operate in close proximity to each other and where the associated lorry movements are on minor roads and B roads passing through rural villages and parishes. This close proximity means that the potential cumulative impact of the quarries is a key issue, which needs to be addressed in a holistic way.

The purpose of the quarry stakeholder meeting was to bring together relevant stakeholders to find out if there was consensus on the need for a holistic approach across this quarry cluster and, if so, what this holistic approach might mean in practice. The meeting was run by an independent facilitator to help ensure that it provided a positive forum for discussion and debate.

Speaking about the meeting, John Mills, Planning and Landscape Officer at the Cotswolds Conservation Board, said, “We were delighted that this meeting was so well attended by representatives from key businesses and organisations relating to quarrying in the area. The meeting proved to be a helpful discussion which improved knowledge and understanding around quarrying, and addressed a number of key questions about the issues that arise from it. We also spoke constructively about how we might work on these issues together in the future.”

Paul Keyte, from the Johnston Group (who are involved with two of the quarries in this cluster) said, “We were pleased to participate in the stakeholders meeting about the area around our quarries.  We believe all parties would benefit from good engagement helping to understand each other better. We know our quarries are part of the local community and going forward we want to be the best neighbours we can be.”

Temple Guiting Parish Council said, “We welcome the Cotswold Conservation Board’s initiative to bring together relevant stakeholders to review the challenges quarrying can bring to the AONB, particularly to communities in the North Cotswolds. We support local quarrying for the production of local limestone to preserve the heritage of this area, in particular for dry stone walling and building. We look forward to continuing to work with the Board on the next steps, which should give all parties greater understanding of the industry and its improved interactions with our local communities.”

It is anticipated that the next step will be to set up a steering group to take forward the ideas and suggested actions that were discussed at the quarry stakeholder meeting.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

• Please contact Alana Hopkins at hopkins@cotswolds-nl.org.uk / 01451 862 003 for further information or interview opportunities.
• The Cotswolds was designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in 1966 in recognition of its rich, diverse and high quality landscape. www.cotswolds-nl.org.uk
• The Cotswolds Conservation Board’s purposes are to:
  -conserve and enhance the natural beauty of the Cotswolds AONB
  -increase understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities of the AONB, ensuring that these complement the conservation and enhancement of the area
• The Cotswolds AONB is looked after by the Cotswolds Conservation Board – an independent organisation established in 2004 which has 37 members – 15 nominated by local authorities, 8 by parish councils and 14 appointed by the Secretary of State.
• The Cotswolds is the third largest protected landscape in England after the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks and represents 10% of the total AONB area in the UK. It covers 2,038 square kilometres (790 square miles), stretching from Warwickshire and Worcestershire in the north, through Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire, down to Bath and Wiltshire in the south.
• The land management position statements are for use by local authorities, government agencies, land agents, advisers, land managers, farmers and the public. They, along with the planning and transport position statements are available on the Cotswolds Conservation Board’s website.
• Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), along with National Parks, are considered to be the most special landscapes in the country and belong to an international family of protected areas.  There are 38 AONBs in England and Wales, and a further eight in Northern Ireland.  For further details, visit: www.landscapesforlife.org.uk. For details of the 13 National Parks in England and Wales visit: www.nationalparks.gov.uk.
• A report of the quarry stakeholder meeting is available from the Cotswolds Conservation Board upon request.

This month, the Cotswolds Conservation Board has initiated a new two year project – the Cotswolds AONB Rail Corridor Enhancement Project – funded by Network Rail, which aims to address the adverse impacts of electrification works which have been carried out along a 10km section of the Great Western Main Line railway.

The funding has been provided to develop, manage, and deliver the work, which will focus on two key areas:

• Line-side planting and other schemes which help to mitigate the visual and landscape impact of the electrification works, within a 6km-wide corridor

and

• Schemes across a wider area of the Cotswolds AONB, to compensate for the adverse impacts of the electrification works by contributing to the Board’s statutory purposes.

The Conservation Board anticipates that most of the funding will be allocated through a grant programme. This will involve working in partnership with local landowners and communities, with a core focus along the 10km stretch of railway line between Old Sodbury and Alderton in the South Gloucestershire section of the AONB.

The project will be run by a new team member at the Conservation Board – Project Officer Scott Brown. Scott will be working with the Conservation Board in a part time role, and comes to the Board from the Trust for Oxfordshire’s Environment (TOE), an organisation which raises funds and allocates grant for environmental projects in the county. Scott will also continue to work part time as TOE’s Development Officer. In this role, Scott has helped develop a strategic plan to ‘scale-up’ TOE’s activities; as well as leading on the development of TOE’s biodiversity net gain programme, which has secured over £300,000 from developers to fund habitat creation and enhancement projects. This programme built on TOE’s successful Network Rail biodiversity offsetting programme, which allocated approximately £800,000 for habitat projects in Oxfordshire and Berkshire. Scott’s previous roles have included working for the Environment Agency and Defra in stakeholder engagement roles.

Speaking about his appointment, Scott said:  “I’m delighted to have joined the Cotswolds Conservation Board team.  The Project Officer role will dovetail well with my current position at the Trust for Oxfordshire’s Environment, my experience is well suited to this new role, and I am excited to start working with communities in the area.”

Andy Parsons, Chief Executive of the Cotswolds Conservation Board said, “We’re pleased to welcome Scott to the Board. We were delighted to have secured the funding from Network Rail for this project, and hope that people across the AONB will engage with Scott and the grant programme to help us take care of this beautiful landscape.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

• Please contact Alana Hopkins at hopkins@cotswolds-nl.org.uk / 01451 862 003 for further information or interview opportunities.
• The Cotswolds was designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in 1966 in recognition of its rich, diverse and high quality landscape. www.cotswolds-nl.org.uk
• The Cotswolds Conservation Board’s purposes are to:
  -conserve and enhance the natural beauty of the Cotswolds AONB
  -increase understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities of the AONB, ensuring that these complement the conservation and enhancement of the area

• The Cotswolds AONB is looked after by the Cotswolds Conservation Board – an independent organisation established in 2004 which has 37 members – 15 nominated by local authorities, 8 by parish councils and 14 appointed by the Secretary of State.
• The Cotswolds is the third largest protected landscape in England after the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks and represents 10% of the total AONB area in the UK. It covers 2,038 square kilometres (790 square miles), stretching from Warwickshire and Worcestershire in the north, through Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire, down to Bath and Wiltshire in the south.
• The land management position statements are for use by local authorities, government agencies, land agents, advisers, land managers, farmers and the public. They, along with the planning and transport position statements are available on the Cotswolds Conservation Board’s website.
• Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), along with National Parks, are considered to be the most special landscapes in the country and belong to an international family of protected areas.  There are 39 AONBs in England and Wales, and a further eight in Northern Ireland.  For further details, visit: www.landscapesforlife.org.uk. For details of the 13 National Parks in England and Wales visit: www.nationalparks.gov.uk