Aberbargoed Grasslands

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Aberbargoed Grasslands
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Wales location map.svg
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Location within Wales
Location Gwent
Grid reference ST1634399205
Coordinates 51°41′21″N03°12′28″W / 51.68917°N 3.20778°W / 51.68917; -3.20778 Coordinates: 51°41′21″N03°12′28″W / 51.68917°N 3.20778°W / 51.68917; -3.20778
InterestBiological
Area42.5 ha [1]
Notification 26 February 1998

Aberbargoed Grasslands is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the Rhymney Valley in Mid & South Glamorgan, South Wales. The area was designated a national nature reserve in 2012 largely due to its population of marsh fritillary butterflies. It is managed by Caerphilly County Borough. [2]

Contents

Geography

The site covers an area of 42.5 hectares (105 acres) of the Rhymney Valley, located on a southwest-facing slope, [1] [2] roughly one kilometre (0.62 mi) from Bargoed. [3] Parts of the site had previously been used as farmland. Due to the site never being routinely drained, the wet grasslands area has produced a fertile breeding ground for wildlife. [4]

The lowland grasslands that make up part of the site are adjudged to be an increasingly rare form of habitat within Great Britain. The marsh fritillary butterfly, a species that has become increasingly displaced due to loss of habitat, has a significant population at the site. [2] The population was regarded as a primary reason for the site's designation as a reserve by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC). [5] The butterfly population had previously been under threat after an arson attack in 2009 had destroyed a portion of their habitat. [6] The site also qualified for reserve status due to the presence of Molinia meadows. [3]

The JNCC report characterised the grasslands as being made up of around 48% humid and mesophile grasslands, 30% deciduous woodlands and 12.8% shrubland with the remaining area consisting of dry grassland, bogs, man-made structures and bodies of water. [5]

History

In 2012, the site became the first area in the Caerphilly County Borough to be designated a national nature reserve. [2] It was also the first area in an urban setting to be designated a reserve in Wales. [4] The new reserve was opened by the Minister for the Environment, John Griffiths. Caerphilly Council emphasised the "particular importance to South Wales" of the area due to its proximity to urban areas, as most reserves are typically located in more coastal or rural areas. [7] The majority of the area has also been designated as a Special Area of Conservation under the Habitats Directive by the European Union. [4] [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

Bargoed Town in Wales

Bargoed is a town and community in the Rhymney Valley, Wales, one of the South Wales Valleys. It lies on the Rhymney River in the county borough of Caerphilly. It straddles the ancient boundary of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, with Bargoed lying in Glamorgan and Aberbargoed in Monmouthshire. 'Greater Bargoed', as defined by the local authority Caerphilly County Borough Council, consists of the towns of Bargoed and Aberbargoed and the village of Gilfach. The combined population of these settlements is about 13,000. The town's rugby club Bargoed RFC holds the world record for the most consecutive league wins in a row and was World Rugby magazine's team of the year in 2005. The town’s football team AFC Bargoed who also hold a rich history are currently rebuilding and have a good young squad, finishing 2nd in the TERV Premier League 2022

Caerphilly County Borough County borough in Wales

Caerphilly County Borough is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It is governed by Caerphilly County Borough Council.

The Rhymney Valley is one of the South Wales valleys, with the Rhymney River forming the border between the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire. Between 1974 and 1996 a Rhymney Valley local government district also existed. The valley encompasses the villages of Abertysswg, Fochriw, Pontlottyn, Tir-Phil, New Tredegar, Nelson, Aberbargoed, Rhymney, Ystrad Mynach and Llanbradach, and the towns of Bargoed and Caerphilly.

Gilfach

Gilfach is the small district that lies between Bargoed and Pengam, situated in the Caerphilly county borough, seven miles north of Caerphilly, within the historic boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales. The Bargoed ward had a population of 2,062 at the 2011 census.

Aberbargoed Human settlement in Wales

Aberbargoed is a town in the County Borough of Caerphilly, Wales. Aberbargoed once contained the largest ever colliery waste tip in Europe, although this has now been reclaimed and turned into a country park. The town is within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire.

Hengoed is a village on the west side of the Rhymney Valley - between Ystrad Mynach to the south and Cefn Hengoed to the north. Across the valley it looks towards Maesycwmmer. The village is in the county borough of Caerphilly, in the traditional county of Glamorgan, Wales. The name literally means 'old wood' in the Welsh language. The electoral ward of Hengoed includes the villages of Hengoed and Cefn Hengoed and a part of Tir-y-Berth in the north west. The ward population was recorded at 5,548 in the 2011 census, an increase of 10% over the previous 10 years, due in part to several new-build housing developments in the ward between 2001 and 2011.

District of Rhymney Valley

Rhymney Valley was one of six local government districts in Mid Glamorgan from 1974 to 1996.

Bedwas, Trethomas and Machen Community in Wales

Bedwas, Trethomas and Machen is a community and an electoral ward in the county borough of Caerphilly, constituting the villages of Machen, Trethomas, Bedwas, and Upper and Lower Graig-y-Rhacca. It lies in the Caerphilly Basin in the shadow of Mynydd y Grug and Mynydd Machen. All villages in the area grew as a result of the coal mining industry, which carries its legacy on today.

Bedwellty

Bedwellty was a parish and urban district in Monmouthshire, South Wales, until 1974.

Fochriw Human settlement in Wales

Fochriw is a village located in Caerphilly County Borough, Wales, United Kingdom. It was well known for its neighbouring collieries, which employed nearly the entire local population in the early 20th century. It lies within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. The village appears as the backdrop on the BBC Wales sitcom High Hopes credits. The villages population was recorded as 1,250 in 2011.

Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni is a Welsh-medium school situated in the village of Fleur-de-Lys in the Rhymney Valley. Cwm Rhymni was founded in 1981 with just over 150 pupils and has since grown to 1,684 pupils with 1,164 at the Gellihaf campus and 520 at Y Gwyndy.

Afon Clun

The Afon Clun is a 14-mile (23 km) long tributary of the River Ely, in the counties of Cardiff and Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Its bedrock is predominantly of sandstone. Beginning on the western slope of The Garth the river is fast-flowing, in clear shallow water with a hard substrate, flowing to the south of Llantrisant and generally west to its confluence with the River Ely at Pontyclun, falling 715 feet (218 m) over its course.

Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve A Chiltern Hills nature reserve

Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve is located on the north-west escarpment of the Chiltern Hills, in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It has an area of 159.1 hectares, and most of it is a 128.5 hectares biological Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is listed as a Grade 1 site in A Nature Conservation Review. The reserve is in several sections, mostly in the parish of Lewknor in Oxfordshire, with smaller sections in the parish of Stokenchurch in Buckinghamshire.

Caeau Ffos Fach is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in Carmarthen & Dinefwr, Wales. Part of this SSSI is a nature reserve owned by the charity Butterfly Conservation primarily because of the population of the rare and legally protected butterfly species the marsh fritillary.

Cynffig/Kenfig SSSI

Cynffig/Kenfig is a Site of Special Scientific Interest which includes Kenfig Sands and its sand dunes near Kenfig in Bridgend County Borough, South Wales. The Kenfig National Nature Reserve is also situated at the site and contains the largest lake in Glamorgan, Kenfig Pool.

Lower House Stream Section is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the Rhymney Valley, in Caerphilly County Borough, south Wales.

Wern Ddu Claypits is a Site of Special Scientific Interest near Van in Caerphilly County Borough, South Wales. The woodland is known locally as Coed y Werin, which surrounds a 19th-century clay pit, dug to supply clay to the Caerphilly Brick Company. It is designated because of the important coal measure rocks exposed there.

Cleeve Common

Cleeve Common is a 455-hectare (1,120-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, England, notified in 1974. It is looked after by a small charity called Cleeve Common Trust, formally Cleeve Common Board of Conservators.

References

  1. 1 2 "Core Management Plan for Aberbargoed Grasslands Special Area of Conservation" (PDF). Natural Resources Wales. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Aberbargoed National Nature Reserve, Bargoed, Caerphilly". First Nature. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  3. 1 2 "Cardiff Local Development Plan 2006–2016" (PDF). Cardiff Council. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 "Aberbargoed Grasslands". Caerphilly County Borough Council. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  5. 1 2 "Aberbargoed Grasslands". Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  6. ↑ "Fears for rare butterfly after Aberbargoed Grassland arson attack". WalesOnline. Media Wales. 10 April 2009. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  7. ↑ "Aberbargoed Grasslands nature reserve opens". BBC News. 14 June 2012. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  8. ↑ "Statutory Protected Sites for Biodiversity Conservation". Caerphilly County Borough Council. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
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