The Sanctuary (Derby)

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Open mosaic habitat at The Sanctuary Bird Reserve, Pride Park, Derby, prior to destruction for a cycle race track in 2014. Pride Park Football Stadium is in background. Skylark grassland.JPG
Open mosaic habitat at The Sanctuary Bird Reserve, Pride Park, Derby, prior to destruction for a cycle race track in 2014. Pride Park Football Stadium is in background.

The Sanctuary is a bird and wildlife sanctuary and designated local nature reserve (LNR) located on Pride Park in the city of Derby, England. It is on a twelve hectare site on the west bank of the River Derwent, adjacent to Pride Park Stadium and Derby Arena. Controversial plans by the local council owners to build a closed circuit cycle race track over part of the local nature reserve would have set a national precedent, potentially exposing all LNRs in England to harmful development., [1] but were withdrawn in 2014 following widespread opposition and in the face of legal action and a judicial review of the planning decision. [2]

Contents

History

Heavily contaminated from its former use as a gas works, the land had been designated a "Site of Interest for Nature Conservation" in the master plan by Derby City Council. Part of the site was used in 2003 to safely encapsulate contaminated material removed from other areas of Pride Park, but in 2001 the site was found to be home to ground nesting birds and passage migrants and a plan was created to protect their grassland habitat and to encourage their nesting by creating 'the city's first bird reserve'.

Margaret Beckett MP and the Mayor of Derby, Cllr Ruth Skelton, at launch of The Sanctuary Bird Reserve, Derby July 2004 Margaret Beckett MP at launch of The Sanctuary Bird Reserve, Derby July 2004.jpg
Margaret Beckett MP and the Mayor of Derby, Cllr Ruth Skelton, at launch of The Sanctuary Bird Reserve, Derby July 2004

The Sanctuary Bird and Wildlife Reserve was formally launched in July 2004 by the Secretary of State for the Environment, Margaret Beckett MP, [3] alongside the Mayor of Derby. [4] The site is now home to breeding skylarks, reed buntings and lapwings, all birds considered significant under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan, with additional habitat created for breeding sand martins and little ringed plovers.

The Sanctuary is not an open access area, but four viewing points are provided on the perimeter for the public. [5] In 2005 The Sanctuary received both a Green Apple Award, and a Green Infrastructure Award from the East Midlands Regional Assembly. [6] Facilities include ramped access for disabled people. [7] In 2006 it was designated a Local Nature Reserve. [8] [9]

In February 2005 a Dartford warbler spent six weeks at The Sanctuary, attracting large numbers of bird watchers. It had not been seen in Derbyshire since a pair were shot at Melbourne Common in the winter of 1840. [10] [11]

Cycle track controversy

Rubble mounds left behind on The Sanctuary LNR, Derby, following the abandoning of plans in 2014 by Derby City Council to construct a closed circuit cycle race track on top of the bird reserve. The Sanctuary Bird Reserve (Derby).JPG
Rubble mounds left behind on The Sanctuary LNR, Derby, following the abandoning of plans in 2014 by Derby City Council to construct a closed circuit cycle race track on top of the bird reserve.

In March 2012, Derby City Council approved plans to build a velodrome (later called Derby Arena) on a former landfill site adjacent to The Sanctuary. In connection with the development, it subsequently also proposed to build an outdoor closed circuit cycle race track on part of the local nature reserve, a plan that was opposed by a coalition of 15 local wildlife groups [12] including the Derbyshire Ornithological Society and Derbyshire Wildlife Trust. [13] [14]

Concerns were raised in local and national newspapers that the council's actions would 'set a dangerous national precedent' with implications for all of the country's designated Local Nature Reserves, exposing them to development pressures. Simon Barnes, chief sportswriter at The Times , described the actions as 'possibly illegal' and described British Cycling's support for the closed circuit cycle track as akin to a “cyclist running a red light.”'. [15] [16] One conservation organisation took out judicial review proceedings against Derby City Council, initially stating:

This would be the first case in the country where a Local Authority, having given one of its own wildlife sites Local Nature Reserve status, then goes on to destroy a significant part of it without mitigation. We fear LNRs in other regions could then also be seen as fair game for all sorts of inappropriate development.

— T. Birch, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust [17]

Television naturalist Chris Packham described Derby council's plans as "a vile act of wanton vandalism". [18] [19] However a number of voices were raised which expressed support for development of a closed circuit cycle track on top of the bird reserve. [20] [21] [22] During the controversy, the breeding success of little ringed plover at The Sanctuary was publicly announced in July 2013. [23]

Derby City Council approved the cycle track in February 2014. [24] Work on the site was halted by court order later that month, following legal action by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust and initiation of judicial review proceedings. [25] [26] As a result, the council decided to scrap their plans in March 2014, citing that it was 'not in taxpayers' interests to continue', later revealing it had spent £147,000 on the aborted plans. [27] [28] A year after construction work had halted, Derby council announced in 2015 that it could not afford to repair the damage it had done to the bird reserve. [29]

Related Research Articles

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust is one of 46 local Wildlife Trusts around the UK working to promote and protect local wildlife. It covers the whole of Derbyshire and was founded in 1962 in response to environmental threats to the local countryside, since when it has continued to grow. The Trust is now based at East Mill on the River Derwent in the town of Belper, Derbyshire. It is a Registered Charity, supported by more than 14,000 members and over 500 volunteers.

Pride Park

Pride Park is a business park on the outskirts of the city centre of Derby, England. Developed in the 1990s, It covers 80 hectares of former industrial land between the River Derwent and railway lines. Pride Park Stadium and Derby Arena are both located in Pride Park.

Local nature reserve (LNR) is a statutory designation for certain nature reserves in Great Britain. The Wild Life Conservation Special Committee established the and proposed a national suite of protected areas comprising national nature reserves, conservation areas, national parks, geological monuments, local nature reserves and local educational nature reserves.

Chris Packham British naturalist

Christopher Gary Packham CBE is an English naturalist, nature photographer, television presenter and author, best known for his television work including the CBBC children's nature series The Really Wild Show from 1986 to 1995. He has also presented the BBC nature series Springwatch, including Autumnwatch and Winterwatch, since 2009.

Ingrebourne Valley

Ingrebourne Valley is a local nature reserve (LNR) in Hornchurch in the London Borough of Havering. It is owned and managed by Havering Council, and has a visitor centre managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust. Most of it is in Hornchurch Country Park west of the River Ingrebourne, but there are also areas north and south of the park which are part of the LNR. It has a wide range of habitats, including woodland, grassland, the river and marshes. It is an important site for a range of species of plants, animals and birds, including great crested newts, slow worms, the harvest mouse and the water vole.

Allestree Hall Country house in Derbyshire, England

Allestree Hall is a 19th-century former country house situated in Allestree Park, Allestree, Derby. It is a Grade II* listed building but has been unoccupied for many years, and has been placed on the Heritage at Risk Register.

Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust

Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust manages over 40 nature reserves covering nearly 810 hectares north of London, in Hertfordshire and the historic county of Middlesex, part of which is divided between the London boroughs of Barnet, Enfield, Harrow and Hillingdon. It has over 21,000 members, and is one of 46 Wildlife Trusts across the UK. It is a Registered Charity, with its Registered Office in St Albans, and had an income in the year to 31 March 2014 of over £1.5 million.

Oak Hill Wood

Oak Hill Wood is a 10-hectare Local Nature Reserve (LNR) and a Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation Grade I, in East Barnet, London. It is owned by the London Borough of Barnet, and part of it is a 5.5-hectare nature reserve managed by the London Wildlife Trust.

Derby Arena

Derby Arena is a multi-use indoor arena and velodrome at Pride Park in Derby, England. It was opened in 2015 and has hosted cycling, badminton and entertainment events.

The Spinney Local Nature Reserve Nature reserve in England

The Spinney, Carshalton is a 0.4 hectare local nature reserve in Carshalton in the London Borough of Sutton, England. It is owned by Sutton Council and managed by the council and Sutton Nature Conservation Volunteers. It used to be managed by the London Wildlife Trust.

The Wood, Surbiton

The Wood is a public park in Surbiton in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in London. Part of it is a bird sanctuary named after the naturalist Richard Jefferies. According to Natural England it is managed by the London Wildlife Trust, but as of August 2015 it is not on the Trust's list of sites. The 1.5-hectare site is designated as a Local Nature Reserve called 'The Wood and Richard Jefferies Bird Sanctuary'.

Gutteridge Wood and Meadows

Gutteridge Wood and Meadows is a Local Nature Reserve (LNR) in Yeading in the London Borough of Hillingdon, which is owned by Hillingdon Council and managed by the London Wildlife Trust (LWT). It is also part of the Yeading Brook Meadows Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation, which includes two neighbouring reserves managed by the LWT, Ten Acre Wood and Yeading Brook Meadows LNRs.

Yeading Brook Meadows

Yeading Brook Meadows is a 17 hectare Local Nature Reserve (LNR) in Yeading in the London Borough of Hillingdon. It is owned by Hillingdon Council and managed by the London Wildlife Trust (LWT). In the north it adjoins Ten Acre Wood across the Golden Bridge and Charville Lane; it then stretches south along the banks of the Yeading Brook to Yeading Lane. The reserve is also part of the Yeading Brook Meadows Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation, which includes two neighbouring LNRs managed by the London Wildlife Trust, Ten Acre Wood and Gutteridge Wood and Meadows.

References

  1. ↑ "Development rings death knell for sanctity of wild havens". The Wildlife Trusts. 14 January 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  2. ↑ "Sanctuary nature reserve: Injunction stopping clearance work at cycle track site extended". Derby Evening Telegraph. 25 February 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  3. ↑ Barnes, Simon (5 February 2014). "The great shame about Derby's Pride Park". The Times. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  4. ↑ The Sanctuary News Report, Winter 2004. retrieved 5 August 2013
  5. ↑ "The Sanctuary - Bird and Wildlife Reserve - Pride Park". Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
  6. ↑ "Download Lagu Mp3, Gudang Download Lagu MP3 Terbaru Gratis 2022". www.prideparksanctuary.com. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
  7. ↑ "The Sanctuary Bird and Wildlife Reserve". www.birdingforall.com. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  8. ↑ "The Sanctuary". Local Nature Reserves. Natural England. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  9. ↑ "Map of The Sanctuary". Local Nature Reserves. Natural England. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  10. ↑ Steve's Birding Pages (retrieved 5 August 2013)
  11. ↑ Amateur video of Dartford Warbler at Pride Park 2005 (retrieved 5 August 2013)
  12. ↑ Mallett, Chris (7 January 2014). "Coalition formed to battle Pride Park cycle track plans". Derby Evening Telegraph. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  13. ↑ "Pride Park nature reserve could become home to cycle track". BBC News. 26 March 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  14. ↑ Brown, Nick (19 November 2013). "Derbyshire Wildlife Trust: Nature reserve next to Derby's new velodrome is under threat - please help us save it". Derby Telegraph. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  15. ↑ Whyatt, Paul (16 February 2014). "Sanctuary nature reserve: Times journalist slams Derby City Council over cycle track plans". www.derbytelegraph.co.uk. Derby Telegraph. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  16. ↑ Johnston, Elliot (17 February 2014). "Times sportswriter Simon Barnes denounces Derby cycle track". www.road.cc. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  17. ↑ "Development rings death knell for sanctity of wild havens". Derbyshire Wildlife Trust. 14 January 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  18. ↑ "TV naturalist Chris Packham denounces Derby cycle track plans as a "wanton act of vandalism"". www.road.cc. 21 January 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  19. ↑ Naylor, Martin (22 January 2014). "TV presenter Chris Packham accuses Derby of planning 'vile act of wanton vandalism' over Pride Park cycle track". Derby Telegraph. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  20. ↑ "Soapbox Peter Turner: Cycle track's advantages outweigh the loss of wildlife habitat". Derby Evening Telegraph. 3 March 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  21. ↑ Dent, Ian (2 March 2014). "Opinion: 'Sanctuary nature reserve is not facing destruction'". Derby Evening Telegraph. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  22. ↑ Whyatt, Paul (5 March 2014). "Angry reaction to backing for Sanctuary cycle track in Derby". Derby Evening Telegraph. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  23. ↑ "Derby velodrome fear for rare birds". Derby Telegraph. 11 July 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  24. ↑ "Derby nature reserve cycle track gets go-ahead". BBC News. 7 February 2014. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  25. ↑ "Court order stops Derby cycle track work at The Sanctuary nature reserve". BBC News. 19 February 2014. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  26. ↑ Mallett, Chris (16 March 2014). "Controversial cycle track for Pride Park is abandoned due to "delays". Derby Evening Telegraph. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  27. ↑ "Plans scrapped for Sanctuary nature reserve cycle track". BBC News. 16 March 2014. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  28. ↑ "£147,000 spent on aborted cycle track by Derby City Council". Derby Evening Telegraph. 10 July 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  29. ↑ "Council 'cannot afford' to restore rare bird reserve". Derby Evening Telegraph. 22 February 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2015.

Coordinates: 52°54′43″N1°26′35″W / 52.912°N 1.443°W / 52.912; -1.443

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