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05
Mar
Land between Ripon and Pateley Bridge among a group of new wetlands in Nidderdale
A planning application has been submitted to create a wetland near Ripon, as part of a project to transform 4.98 hectares of land into wetlands across Nidderdale.
Christy Irish, wetland creation officer at Nidderdale National Landscape — formerly known as Nidderdale Area of Outstanding National Beauty — has proposed the creation of a 470 square metre wildlife pond on land near Yaud House Head Farm, between Sawley and Fellbeck.
The application is part of Nidderdale National Landscape's £200,000 Nidderdale wetland creation project.
The project has resulted in 34 newly created ponds, seven restored ones and 15 scrape areas, or shallow ponds, at 17 sites in Nidderdale on land from Blubberhouses to Dallowgill.
A scrape area
The project, which began in September, aims to finish in time for this year's bird breeding season and the end of hibernation for many species.
Ms Irish said in her application the creation of wetland would support wildlife, increase environmental benefits and provide natural flood management.
The Stray Ferret spoke to Iain Mann, national landscape manager, who told us about the project:
Creating wet features in strategic areas across the landscape creates a more joined-up approach, providing the optimum opportunity for species recovery. Increasing connectivity ensures greater resilience to climate change.
Wet habitats are home to insects, small mammals and aquatic invertebrates, which provide feeding opportunities for protected species such as bats, barn owls and red listed groundnesting birds.
This is an exciting time for wildlife as they begin to explore these new freshwater habitats. Future monitoring will help us identify the aquatic invertebrates and small mammals that settle here.
The project has seen successes already, capturing a picture of a dragonfly at a three-week old wetland site. Nidderdale National Landscape, which is funde dby the government, said that this demonstrates “just how quickly wildlife can adapt to and thrive in these new environments".
A dragon fly hovering over a pond created three weeks ago
The national landscape also announced that it had secured additional funding for another year, although the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has yet to announce how much will be available.
A decision has not yet been made on the Yaud House Head Farm application.
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