Biodiversity and Geological Conservation

Last updated: 18/02/2013 Add to My Bookmarks Subscribe

Advice on Biodiversity

Cornwall Council, with partners, has produced a range of Guidance information. Much of this is aimed at developers but will also be of general interest:

• Planning Good Practice Guidance for Cornwall
• Guidance for Single Wind Turbines and bats
• Guidance on development of Large Scale Solar PV Arrays in Cornwall
• Other Planning Advice and Guidance 
• Management and control of Japanese knotweed
• Guidance on native trees and shrubs for Cornwall
• Cornwall Biodiversity Action Plan
• Improving your home for wildlife

Planning Good Practice Guidance for Cornwall - November 2007

The Planning Good Practice Guidance for Cornwall sets out guidance for planners and developers on how to take account of bio and geo-diversity in the development process. It sets out legal requirements and Good Practice recommendations. It will also be of interest to those wishing to respond to planning applications in their area or providing enhancements to their house, garden, site etc.

Recommended approach for bats and single small wind turbines in Cornwall (Approximately 10-30m hub height or 5-100kW)

With the increasing interest in small wind turbines in Cornwall guidance has been produced on the best approach to assess the impacts on bats (European Protected Species).

The Guidance for Single Wind Turbines and bats is available to download as a pdf file.

Cornwall Biodiversity Action Plan

In 1996 the Cornwall Biodiversity Initiative (CBI) produced Cornwall’s Biodiversity Volume 1: Audits and Priorities . Following on from the recommendations in this document, Action Plans were produced for the Cornish priority habitats and species and published in Cornwall’s Biodiversity Volume 2: Action Plans .

A further volume, Cornwall's Biodiversity Volume 3: Action Plans 2004 , has been produced in line with the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UK BAP) process. This highlights the UK BAP priority habitats and species that occur in Cornwall and comprises of 25 habitat and 127 Species Action Plans, each written by local experts. Cornwall’s Biodiversity Volume 3: Action Plans 2004 guides local conservation work to contribute to UK BAP targets and to ensure that Cornwall’s wildlife continues to be an inspiration for future generations.

Following on from a progress review Cornwall's BAP is currently being revised and a new volume is being produced. This Volume 4: Priority Projects, will also take into account the publication of the new UK list of priority habitats and species, and the new England Biodiversity Strategy (EBS) delivery framework. New lists have been produced which contain the UK BAP habitats and species which occur in Cornwall.

More information can be found on the Cornwall Biodiversity Initiative website.

Improving your property for wildlife

There are many ways that we can accomodate wildlife in our homes and gardens. The following links will take you to a information leaflets for specialist, practical advice:

Accommodating swifts, swallows and house martins