Urban habitats (including infrastructure networks)

• Climate change

• Habitat loss and fragmentation, particularly through development

• Land management detrimental to biodiversity

• Flood risk

• Recreational impacts

Farmland enclosed by the urban environment.

Open mosaic on previously developed land in urban areas (≥10,000 residents).

Rivers & streams, canals & other waterways

Brownfield

(including open mosaic on previously developed land, disturbed ground, exposed ground, waste ground).

31 shortlisted plant and moss species including:

• Pyramidal Orchid

• Bee orchid

• Basil thyme

• Marsh helleborine

• Small cudweed

Parkland, parks, gardens, orchards, verges and flower-rich habitat.

14 shortlisted species including -

Mammals:

• Hedgehog

Invertebrates:

• Moss carder bee

• European Hornet

Plants:

• Small-flowered buttercup

• Bladder campion

Fungi:

• Slate bolete fungi

Open water

(reservoirs, ditches, ponds, canals and marginal vegetation).

32 shortlisted species including -

Mammals:

• Water vole

• Foraging bat species

Amphibians:

• Common toad

Invertebrates:

• Red-eyed Damselfly

Plants:

• Numerous pondweed species

• Green figwort (plant)

• Weissia rostellata (a moss)

• Physcomitrium sphaericum (a moss)

Manmade structures/buildings, synanthropic

11 shortlisted species including -

Mammals:

• Numerous roosting bat species including pipistrelles, Daubenton's and whiskered bats.

Birds:

• Swallow

• Swift

• House martin

• Starling

• Peregrine falcon

Broadleaved native trees and woodland planting.

To improve the structure of park woodland to target urban heat islands in towns and cities.

To create urban farms and urban nature reserves for inner city or highly urban communities.

To improve engagement with local community groups for example nature focused community projects.

Embed nature recovery in education in our primary and secondary schools.

Raise awareness in the value of gardens for wildlife.

Raise awareness in the value of maintaining a variety of semi-natural habitats and how to incorporate management to benefit biodiversity in parks and other green spaces.

Enhance green corridors and active travel routes through urban areas for example, along linear infrastructure and urban watercourses.

Develop/create green spaces within the public & private estates for example, NHS, schools, colleges and universities.

Incorporate/create Sustainable Urban Drainage systems

U1. Suitable habitats and features created and maintained to support thriving populations of urban species important to Lancashire.

U1.1 – Create insect-rich habitat to support swift breeding populations in Lancashire sites as part of a wider, program of landscape scale habitat restoration to support this often-urban nesting, critically declining species.

• Swifts,

• Invertebrates,

• Other invertebrate predators

• Invertebrate reliant species (e.g. wildflowers/vascular plants).

National objectives and targets:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 12, 13, 15, 16

Wider benefits:

• health and wellbeing,

• reduction in heat loss,

• reduction in carbon emissions,

• climate resilience,

• local economy and green jobs,

• attenuate water to reduce flood risk,

• mitigate water quantity extremes,

• social, cultural and educational

Other linked LNRS Priorities:

AW1, AW2, AW3, AW4, G1, G2, R3, R4, W1, W2, U2, U3, U4

U1.2 - Create more connected pollinator wildflower-rich habitat in and through urban centres seeking connectivity to the B-Lines approach for example hedgerows, arable margins and headlands, green roofs, and with parks and gardens containing wetland features, wilder areas with native plants including tall ruderals.

Invertebrates:

• Wool carder bee

• Stelis punctulatissima (a bee)

• Dolichovespula media (a wasp)

U1.3 - Protect existing swift nesting sites.

• Swifts

U1.4 - Retro-fitting nesting and roosting opportunities on existing buildings and infrastructure.

Bats

for example:

• Common pipistrelle

• Soprano pipistrelle

• Whiskered

• Brandt's bat

Birds

for example:

• Swallow

• Swift

• House martin

• Starling

U1.5 - Retro-fit green roofs and brown roofs on existing buildings and incorporate green walls, roof gardens and balcony planting into new buildings.

• Bats

• Birds

• Invertebrates

U2. Maximised biodiversity value of new and existing urban environments and infrastructure networks.

U2.1 - Promote the naturalisation of watercourses including the establishment of buffer habitats in the urban environment.

Mammals:

• Water vole

• Foraging bat species

Amphibians:

• Common toad

Invertebrates:

• Red-eyed damselfly

Plants:

• Green figwort

• Numerous pondweed and water-crowfoot species

National objectives and targets:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16

Wider benefits:

• Improve access to green space,

• offer alternative locations to alleviate recreational impacts

• health and wellbeing

• local economy and green jobs,

• improve water quality by intercepting diffuse pollution,

• attenuating water to reduce flood risk,

• mitigate water quantity extremes,

• social, cultural and educational

Other linked LNRS Priorities:

AW1, AW2, AW3, AW4, G1, G2, W1, W2, U1, U3, U4

U2.2 - Create and enhance waterbodies, wetlands and other aquatic habitats in urban areas, considering connectivity such as garden ponds, aerial ponds, bioswales, rain gardens and biodiverse sustainable drainage systems.

U2.3 - Wooded habitat creation and enhancement in urban area such as orchards, street trees, micro-woods, urban woodland and hedgerows.

Mammals:

• Hedgehog

Birds:

• Greenfinch

Invertebrates:

• European hornet

• Brachychaeteuma bagnalli (a millipede)

Plants:

• Small-flowered buttercup

• Pink-flowered bramble

Fungi:

• Slate bolete fungi

U2.4 – Create, enhance and maintain biodiverse grassland habitats in urban areas, appropriate for the location and site conditions, taking account of ongoing land uses (e.g., old established grasslands in cemeteries) and existing ecological interest (e.g., fungi).

Plants:

• Pyramidal Orchid

• Common spotted and marsh orchids

• Rough hawk's-beard

• Lesser hawkbit

• Bladder campion

• Yellow-wort.

Fungi:

• Grassland fungi such as waxcaps and earthtongues.

U2.5 – Maintain and enhance the biodiversity of open mosaic habitat on previously developed land.

Plants:

• Bee orchid

• Basil thyme

• Marsh helleborine

• Small cudweed

• Sand spurrey

• Quaking grass

U2.6 - Habitat creation and enhancement through appropriate management within urban parks, public open space, gardens, allotments, historic parks and gardens, burial grounds, cemeteries, churchyards and other religious memorial sites; for example, trees and woodland, grasslands, aquatic and wetland habitats appropriate for the location and conditions of the site.

As above

Birds:

• Peregrine falcon

Fungi:

• Grassland fungi such as waxcaps and earthtongues.

U2.7 - Habitat creation and enhancement through appropriate management within the public estate for example educational grounds, the NHS estate, the Crown Estate, Ministry of Defence land, complete landfill sites and local authority land; for example, trees and woodland, grasslands, aquatic and wetland habitats appropriate for the location and conditions of the site.

As above

U2.8 - Review and adapt existing lighting design in parks and along streets and linear infrastructure to be more wildlife friendly, whilst remaining safe and useable by people.

Mammals:

• Hedgehogs

• Bats including:

• Pipistrelle's
• Daubenton's bat
• Natterers
• Whiskered
• Brandt's
• Serotine

U2.9 - Incorporate appropriate native habitats and species into Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems.

U3. Increased connectivity of habitats through and between urban landscapes.

U3.1 - Create and enhance connected habitats (such as hedgerows, verges etc) along transport and other linear infrastructure corridors for example greener active travel routes, canal network and towpaths through appropriate management.

As above

National objectives and targets:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16

Wider benefits:

• Improve access to green space,

• reduction in noise pollution,

• improve air quality,

• health and wellbeing,

• address severance,

• local economy and green jobs,

• social, cultural and educational

Other linked LNRS Priorities: AW1, AW2, AW3, AW4, G2, G3, R4, W1, W2, U1, U2, U4

U3.2 - Enhance connectivity of habitats across transport and other linear infrastructure corridors and reverse the effects of severance, including for example green bridges, removal or widening of culverts, creation of underpasses, 'hop-over' planting.

U3.3 - Habitat creation and enhancement to connect urban habitats and green spaces to the wider ecological network, including new or enhanced stepping-stone habitats, wildlife corridors and biodiverse open spaces.

U3.4 - Create and enhance habitats to buffer the canal network for example, trees and woodland, grasslands, aquatic and wetland habitats appropriate for the location and conditions of the site.

U4. Biodiverse publicly accessible spaces and routes.

U4.1 - Habitat creation, enhancement and management within public open space and along active travel routes, for example trees and woodland, grasslands, aquatic and wetland habitats appropriate for the location and conditions of the site.

As above

National objectives and targets:

1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 10, 12, 15, 16

Wider benefits:

• Improve air quality,

• Improve water quality,

• health and wellbeing

• local economy and green jobs,

• Improve access to green space,

• social, cultural and educational

Other linked LNRS Priorities:

AW1, AW2, AW3, AW4, G2, W1, W2, U1, U2, U3

U4.2 - Creation of Suitable Alternative Natural Green Spaces comprising wildlife rich woodland, grassland, wetland and aquatic habitats.

U4.3 - Restoration and enhancement of existing Local Nature Reserves, Country Parks and District Wildlife Sites