Local nature reserves (LNRs) are designated by local authorities under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. The local authority must have legal control over the site, by owning or leasing it or having an agreement with the owner. LNRs are sites which have a special local interest either biologically or geologically, and local authorities have a duty to care for them. They can apply local bye-laws to manage and protect LNRs.[6][7]
This is a small remnant of the ancient Hadleigh Great Wood. It is coppiced oak woodland on sands, gravels and clay, and one of the largest areas of old woodland in the south of the county. Bramble and honeysuckle are the main ground plants. Other plants include the rare broad-leaved helleborine.[12]
This steeply sloping site has large areas of scrub, and there are some rare plant and invertebrates species. Plants include Deptford pink and bithynian vetch, and a survey in 2001 recorded 667 invertebrate taxa.[13]
The site is a long narrow strip along the south bank of the River Blackwater between Bradford Bridge and the A131 road. It has a wide variety of plant species, including veteran trees, and its habitats are wetland, woodland, scrub, wildflower meadows and grassland.[14]
This was formerly a creek which has been converted to a lake by the building of a sea wall. Wildlife includes mallards, moorhens and water voles. A shingle bank has been created and reed beds cut back.[18]
The LNR stretches along the River Chelmer and its banks. The northern end has the river, unimproved grassland, veteran hedges, scrub and woodland. The southern area is more managed, with mown grass as well as large trees and an area of marshland.[19]
The wood is a remnant of the ancient Hainault Forest, and its history can be traced back to the seventeenth century. The trees were traditionally pollarded for fuel, and 366 pollards over 250 years old have been recorded, out of which 75% are hornbeam and 20% oak.[20] There are over 800 species of invertebrates.[21]
The site was designed to relieve flooding in the parish, and it is managed for wildlife. A pond and wet grassland have been created, and over 2,500 native deciduous trees have been planted. Plants include ragged robin and marsh cinquefoil, and 16 butterfly and moth species have been recorded, together with 10 dragonflies and 60 birds.[22]
There are several different habitats, including Wivenhoe Marsh, which is adjacent to the River Colne, Wivenhoe Woods, which have sixteen tree species with sweet chestnut dominant, and Lower Lodge, scrub and grassland which has a row of mature oak trees on its eastern boundary.[23]
The site has amenity grassland, meadows, woods, lakes, ponds, ditches and hedgerows. It has some locally rare species, and is described by Natural England as a very good habitat for fungi, due to a large amount of dead wood.[26]
This is undeveloped wetland in a valley surrounded by housing. It has grassland, swamp, scrub, ponds and reedbed, providing diverse habitats for wildlife.[27][28]
Galleywood Common was recorded in the Domesday Book. Its diverse habitats include heathland, woodland, scrub, grassland, ponds and mire. It has a wide variety of fauna.[29]
The site is an area of former sandpits which has around a mile of footpaths, woodland, an open glade and many ponds. There is a wide variety of trees, and flowers include wood anemones and bluebells. It is described by Natural England as "an area of outstanding natural beauty".[30][31]
This site is in three separate areas. Parndon Moat Marsh has a moat which is a Scheduled Monument, wildflower meadows and woodland.[34] Maymeads Marsh has wildflower meadows and a reed-filled pond with a bird hide,[35] and Marshgate Spring has marshes with reed and sedge beds.[36]
The meadow is neutral grassland with a brook running through it. It has a variety of wild flowers including yellow rattle, common spotted orchid, cowslip, wild carrot and grass vetchling. There are strips of mature woodland along the margins, and a stand of willow trees. A damper area in the north of the site has marshland plants.[37]
The fields have diverse habitats of grassland, woods, hedges, scrub, ponds and marsh. The grassland is grazed by rabbits, and invertebrates include minotaur beetles and bee wolf wasps. The woodland is mainly oak, ash and hawthorn, and the pond banks have reedmace and reed sweet-grass.[39]
The woods are on pre-glacial gravels and clay, with trees including hornbeam, pedunculate oak, sessile oak, birch and hazel. Ground flora include three species of orchid, and there is a stream and area of bog.[40]
This is a country park which has ponds, a scrape area, grassland, marsh and hawthorn scrub. Over 200 bird species have been recorded, including purple sandpipers, avocets and short-eared owls. There is a bird hide, car parking and toilets.[42]
This linear site has formal park areas, wildflower meadows, scrub, wet woodland and coppice. The River Brain runs through it. The seventeenth century naturalist John Ray made pioneering observations of wild blackcurrant bushes in the wet woodland.[44]
The park has a wildlflower meadow, coppiced woodland, grassland and a pond. Flowers in the meadow include hoary cress, charlock and ox-eye daisy, and there are many species of butterflies. The woodland has birds such as dunnock and song thrushes.[46]
There is ancient woodland, scrub, grassland and ponds. The ponds have frogs, toads and newts, and bats forage in the hedgerows. Plants include bluebells and wood anemone.[48] It also has a wildflower meadow which is an important habitat for many species of invertebrates, birds and mammals.[49]
This is a former brickworks and evidence of its former activity is still visible, including a pond. There is a wide variety of birds, including bullfinches.[52]
Marylands has a varied fauna and flora, with 96 species of trees, shrubs, grasses and herbs, and 13 of butterflies. Nine of the tree species are associated with ancient woodland. There are woodland and farmland birds, and a stream with sticklebacks.[53]
This site has grassland, scrub and woodland, with mammals including badgers, stoats and foxes, and many bird species. Some areas are wet, and the main grasses are red fescue and common bent. Flowers include harebell and common spotted orchid.[54]
This very small site, which surrounded on all three sides by roads, is mainly occupied by a pond, which has great crested and smooth newts, together with waterfowl and dragonflies. It has an area of wildflower meadow with ox-eye daisy, bird's foot trefoil and self heal. The site is bordered by a hawthorn hedge.[9]
This is ancient oak woodland on acid soil which has been converted to mixed sweet chestnut coppice. There are sphagnum mosses in acidic flushes, and the rare water violet in one of the four ponds. There are nine species of dragonfly.[56] Archaeological features include a Bronze Agebowl barrow.[55]
The woods are mainly pedunculate oak and hornbeam, and other trees include ash, hazel and birch. There are also some elms which are regenerating from coppice following Dutch elm disease.[57]
This is a linear site along the bank of Pickers Ditch, a tributary of Holland Brook. A footpath runs through the grassland, and hedges have been planted along the boundaries to screen the site.[59]
The meadows are bordered to the south west by the River Roding. They form one of the largest areas of grassland in Essex which are traditionally managed as hay meadows, flood meadows and marshland. Plants include the largest beds in Essex of the rare brown sedge.[61]
Part of this site is ancient woodland of hornbeam, oak and silver birch, with an understorey which is mainly hazel and hawthorn. The other part is younger woodland which has wildflower glades with bee and common spotted orchids, slowworms and grass snakes.[62]
The site has a variety of habitats, with the brook itself, pasture, ponds and marsh. Fauna include four species of bats, water voles, lizards, nightingales and reed warblers. An area called Berrimans Pasture has over one hundred plants, particularly ones typical of unimproved damp grasslands.[63]
The Old Ranges have flora unique in the county, on a habitat of unimproved grassland over ancient sand dunes. There are areas of grasses and sedges, while rushes are found in damp hollows. Rabbits graze the grassland, and close cropped areas have many lichens.[66][e]
The wildlflower meadows are grazed by cattle. Birds include kingfishers, snipe and nightingales, and there are mammals such as otters and noctule bats.[70]
The flood meadow was created to alleviate flooding in Thornwood village, and it is managed for nature conservation. A wetland meadow, 800 trees and a 200 metres (220 yd) hedge have been created. Flowers include ragged robin, oxeye daisy and knapweed.[71]
The hill has grassland and scrub woodland, surrounded by a drainage ditch. Some meadow areas are closely mown, but others are only cut annually, allowing flowers to grow provide food for bumblebees and butterflies. There are unusual plants such as pale flax.[73]
The site consists of two meadows created for flood defence, and managed for biodiversity with the creation of a wet meadow, which is dominated by flowers such as cowslips and ragged robin. Newts and frogs breed in ponds and ditches, and grass snakes and common lizard bask on sunny days.[74]
Trees in this site, which is managed by rotational coppicing, include ash, hazel, sweet chestnut and the rare small leaved lime. It is carpeted by bluebells in the spring, and there are other flowers such as yellow archangel and wood anemone. Dead wood provides a habitat for stag beetle larvae.[75]
Most of this former rubbish tip is grassland with many different flowering plants, and a range of butterflies, dragonflies and seed-eating birds. Mammals include wood mice, bank voles and pygmy shrews. There is also scrub and young woodland.[76][77]
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