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THE INGS
Introduction: Norton Ings is an area of land situated between the River Derwent and the main York to Scarborough railway line, behind Commercial Street, Norton on Derwent, to the east of the market town of Malton. The section of the land containing much of the Ings wetland belongs to Ryedale District Council, with adjacent areas being in private ownership. The land has throughout its history acted as natural floodplain to the River Derwent and has flooded to some extent on at least an annual basis for many years. In 1999 and 2000 the towns of Malton and Norton and village of Old Malton suffered from extensive flooding affecting over 100 homes and businesses and the local transport infrastructure. Following these major incidents a Flood Alleviation Scheme was promoted by the Environment Agency and designed for the towns, a section of which runs through the centre of Norton Ings. The defence constructed through Norton Ings was predicted to have an impact on the wetland as, although designed and constructed to avoid direct interference, the flood embankment cuts the wetland off from the River Derwent and therefore water level changes were considered likely when the Flood Alleviation Scheme was planned. Background: Norton Ings is a designated Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC). Lengths of the riverbank are designated SSSI. There is very little public use of the area for leisure purposes due to access problems – the only access point currently available is via an un-manned pedestrian pathway over the main York to Scarborough railway line. However, the section of the site in the ownership of Ryedale District Council has been studied over a period of some 10 years by Norton Wildlife Watch, the local junior branch of the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, who monitor the species of flora and fauna on the site extensively (see below) and have been involved in various creative and artistic projects on the Ings. The section of the site furthest east from the towns (referred to as Field 2 to the east of the old railway embankment) is in private ownership and has been used largely for grazing and exercising of dogs from the tenant’s greyhound kennel that is adjacent to the land. Wetland bio-diversity: Two sections of natural wetland existed on the site prior to the construction of the Flood Alleviation Scheme on land on either side of the old railway embankment that bisects Norton Ings and that falls away from the existing York to Scarborough railway towards the River Derwent. (see Fig 1)
Fig 1. River Derwent: The River Derwent is fed from the North York Moors and is very clean - it is one of the cleanest rivers in England. Lady Spring Wood: The wood has a beautiful mosaic trail designed and made by Norton Wildlife Watch group. It is bursting with ancient and beautiful springs bubbling with clear spring water.
Norton Ings: The Ings is a wetland on the floodplain of the river with a large variety of wildlife including otters, amphibians and wingless water beetles. There is a species of mayfly that is only found here in the whole of the UK!! Derventio (Roman fort): Derventio is a Roman fort which was built nearly 2000 years ago as an outpost of the important Roman site at Eboracum (York). Many hundreds of soldiers lived here. On the Norton side of the river there was a civilian settlement with potteries and cemeteries. Old Castle: There used to be a medieval castle here and later a Jacobean mansion laid out with beautiful formal gardens. There are plans to open this area as a public park. Disused Railway Line: The railway line was built in Victorian times, running across the river from Malton to Driffield. It was taken away about forty years ago but still today there is a line from Malton to Scarborough running alongside the site. There are bats still living inside the remains of the old stone bridge that took the railway across the Ings and across the river.
The following dominant species have been recognised in the wetland area: Slender tufted sedge Carex acuta Water Horsetail Equisetum fluiatile Common Spike-rush Eleocharis palustris Reed sweet-grass Glyceria maxima The site also has a number of ancient wetland macro-invertebrates such as the Diving Beetle Agabus unguicularis as well as uncommon Scavenger Water Beetles Helophorus arvernicus, H griseus, H. nanus and Cercyon tristis, the Long-headed Fly Rhaphium rivale and the Cranefly Cheilotrichia imbutata. The nationally vulnerable Red Data Book Cranefly Arctoconopa melampodia has also been recorded in the area. There is considerable bird activity on the Ings with the presence of wetland birds such as Jack Snipe Lymnocryptes minimus and Reed Bunting Emberiza schoeniclus, Common Sandpiper Tringa hypoleucos, Dipper, Cinclus cinclus gularis, Kingfisher Alcedo atthis and Grey Wagtail Motacilla cineria. Fauna fully protected under the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act in the catchment include otter, Sand Martin and Kingfisher. The River Derwent is regarded as one of the best examples of Lowland River in Britain, supporting diverse communities of aquatic flora and fauna, many elements of which are nationally significant. It is one of few rivers that, combined with its wetland, possess a wide range of international and national designations and such unique species and have survived relatively unpolluted into the 21st Century. A wide range of fish species is present in the river including rarer species such as lamprey. Amongst the mammals found on site are harvest mice, a protected species, nesting in the reed beds, together with other small rodents such as field voles and shrews, found within the grasses. Bats have been seen to live in the old brick piers built to support the Victorian railway line that once bisected the site. There are also significant stocks of varieties of aquatic flora such as River Water Dropwort Oenanthe fluviatilis and Flowering Rush Butomus umbellatus and an exceptional rich variety of aquatic macro-invertebrates. Of particular interest are the Mayflies Baetis buceratus, Heptagenia fusogrisea and Brachycerus harisella, the Alderfly Sialis nigripes, the Water Beetle Hydraena pulchella and the StoneflyTaeniopteryx nebulosa ssp. britannica. There are also two species of mayfly recently identified as new to Britain (Gunn & Blackburn, 1997; Blackburn et al, 1998) Electrogena affinis (unique to this watercourse) and Caenis pseudorivulorum (restricted to north-east England) and the BAP priority species the Depressed River Mussel Pseudanodonta complinata is also present. At least 16 species of Odonata are associated with the river, including Banded Agrion Calopteryx splendens and Red-eyed Damselfly Erythromma najas. Of major importance is the Carabid Beetle Panagaeus cruxmajor and Hydraeid beetle Hydraena palustris and the Leafhopper cicadula ornata is unique to the Lower Derwent Valley. Malton, Norton and Old Malton Flood Alleviation Scheme - protection of wildlife through sensitive working practices: Because of the sensitive nature and habitat on the Norton Ings site, Environment Agency bio-diversity staff spent a considerable amount of time developing a detailed Environmental Action Plan in conjunction with the flood alleviation scheme designers, Halcrow and building contractors Interserve Project Services Limited. These included carrying out hydrological surveys to try and predict the effects that the proposed flood scheme would have on habitats. A major concern was that the construction of earth embankments and some hard defences at the west of the site would result in severe disturbance to wetland birds and create large areas of bare soil. This posed a considerable threat to the wetland on the Ings and required sensitive construction techniques, especially as wetlands are very prone to damage from the release of sediments and from accidental contamination, by oil or diesel, for example. During construction contractors had to follow strict guidelines to minimise the impact of works on the habitat on the Ings. These included: ¨ Protection of breeding birds – construction work only permitted between October and February in sensitive areas. ¨ Lack of roosting and nesting sites for birds and bats during the construction period (due to the removal of trees during construction) was addressed by the erection of bat and bird boxes. ¨ Fencing off of wetland areas to prevent encroachment by construction vehicles and possible associated damage to habitat ¨ To minimise the impact of traffic on the site some materials used (clay) was taken from borrow pits on site and defined access routes were laid down. Ground protection methods were also used on site. ¨ Pollution – contractors followed best practice methods to ensure that fuel/oil/toxic chemicals were stored away from watercourses (PPG5) Environment Agency bio-diversity officers carefully monitored the site, carrying out survey work on flora and fauna prior to works commencing to establish quantities and levels of activity and continued to monitor impact throughout the construction period to ensure that the Environmental Action Plan was adhered to by the contractors. Norton Ings and the adjacent field were also enhanced by the construction of the flood alleviation scheme by mitigation and improvement works carried out during and on completion of the works. Although not directly affecting the wetland area, these measures have enhanced the local habitat, which will have a knock-on beneficial impact. These enhancement works include the creation of large new pond in the area known as Field 2 Norton Wildlife Watch and work on Norton Ings: Norton Wildlife Watch has been working on the Norton Ings site since 1997. A junior branch of the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, the group is made up of approximately 20 children aged between 6 and 16 who regularly visit the site to study and monitor the flora and fauna. They have produced numerous pieces of artwork based on their findings, along with a calendar and have worked with Connecting Youth Culture (North Yorkshire Community Education) to produce two videos, one prior to the flooding and one showing the effects of the flood alleviation scheme. The site is very important to the youngsters and in their second video they expressed their concerns about the construction of the flood alleviation scheme and their fears for the wildlife on the site and the future of the wetland area. As well as interviews with members of the group, the children also interviewed local people on their opinions about the flood defences (both those who had been directly affected by the flooding and others), business people, councillors and council officers, a representative from the contractors and member of the Environment Agency’s bio-diversity team. Future of the site: Norton Ings is an ideal site for the creation of a public open space allowing wider access to local people to natural habitats and to explore wetland environments ‘on their doorstep’. Access to Norton Ings is the main obstacle preventing more public use of the site. The main access point is from Commercial Street, Norton, via Wallgates Lane that leads to a gate allowing entry to the site over the main York to Scarborough railway line. Obviously this is not a safe access point to facilitate public access and a pedestrian bridge over the track would be needed in order to open up the site to the public on a regular basis. A local community group, The Derwent Riverside Project (DRP) has expressed an interest in opening up the site to public access and creating a pedestrian/cycle bridge over the River Derwent to access the site in the opposite direction from an area known locally as Orchard Field. DRP has suggested that the site could then be opened up using a ‘boardwalk’ type system to avoid damage to the Ings and that signage could be installed to interpret the flora and fauna on the site for visitors. Nature trails, grass seating banks and viewing points could also be introduced sympathetically to the site. As yet DRP has been unable to move this project forward as funding for the bridge is proving difficult to attract. However the Royal Engineers have expressed an interest in building a bridge as a training exercise and the project is currently on the army’s list of potential projects. Once this is achieved it may be possible to further other aspects of the project. This idea has been discussed with Ryedale District Council’s bio-diversity officer. The youngsters of Norton Wildlife Watch have also discussed the future of the Ings and are keen to see further development on site to extend the existing habitats. It has become apparent that the nature of Norton Ings has changed since the flood defences were installed, and some areas of the site have become wetter than before. A brief survey of flora and fauna carried out in the autumn of 2004 and again in 2005 has revealed a different balance of species. The site should be managed carefully to maximise the potential of the new ecology, and Norton Wildlife Watch would be happy to support the practical application of such an initiative. Already the group plans to carry out a live mammal trapping in September 2006. A previous such event was in 1999. From the brief survey of October 2005, it has been established that the harvest mice have returned to nest in the reed bed after an absence of 5 years, during which time the site has been flooded for a second time and the Flood Alleviation Scheme has been put in place.
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