Elected Member Briefing Notes - Nature Restoration Fund 2022/23

About this briefing note

Report by: David Littlejohn, Head of Planning & Development

Date: 2 December 2022

Subject: Nature Restoration Fund Approved Projects

Responsible Officer: Hannah Wilson, Planning and Housing Strategy Graduate and Robert Willis, Planning Officer

Purpose

To inform elected members about the Nature Restoration Fund (NRF) approved projects for 2022-23.

Briefing information

Nature Restoration Funding 2022-23

The NRF is a Scottish Government 5-year commitment 2021-2026. In May 2022 the Council received notice of the 22-23 funding of £176,000. The fund focusses on addressing drivers of biodiversity loss, namely habitat loss and fragmentation, and invasive non-native species - particularly in rural biodiversity.

In August 2022, a report went to the Climate Change and Sustainability Committee to decide the split in funding between Community Greenspace and community led projects. The committee approved the ratio of Nature Restoration Funding of 60% to Community Greenspace projects and 40% to community led projects.

Among the projects which came forward were two school projects which resulted in the fund allocation being oversubscribed. If these projects were to be funded Community Greenspace would have needed to reduce their programme. However, the Council has secured an extra £16,958 from the Scottish Government, taking the total funding amount to £192,958 and allowing all projects that met the criteria to be funded. 

Assessment of proposals

Due to a change in focus in the Scottish Government criteria, projects were invited that were wholly focused on biodiversity and/or nature restoration. This required a strict approach to which proposals were acceptable. 

Prior to submitting a proposal, applicants were offered the option to submit an enquiry. Of these:

• 4 did not meet the criteria and the applicant advised
• 8 did meet the criteria and the applicant invited to submit a proposal

Funding has been allocated to fund both community and internal projects: 

• 7 Community Greenspace projects
• 2 Education & Learning projects
• 2 Tayside Biodiversity Partnership projects
• 7 Community run projects

5 projects were found not to have met the criteria and were declined and other funding routes advised.

Internal projects

The total amount of funding allocated internally to Community Greenspace is £103,490 and Education is £17,845.

Projects by PKC Community Greenspace

Forest Plan Works (£25,000)

Works in a number of locations to carry out site management objectives, restore native habitat or deliver community projects on forested sites at: 

• Birks of Aberfeldy
• The Knock
• Blackspout Wood
• St Magdalenes Hill
• Alyth Den

Removal of Hogweed and Japanese Knotweed (£8000)

At Craigie Burn & Tay. This is a two-year project with additional spend anticipated in 2023/4.

Investment in pedestrian machinery (£21,490)

Machinery with interchangeable flail head and scythe attachment for meadow management use by community groups. This includes purchasing two tractor units, two flail heads, and two scythe units.

Kinnoull Hill SSSI (£14,000)

Work includes contractor time to remove scrub and trees from heathland areas to improve habitat and open up summit views. Heathland will be re-seeded following clearance works. Scrub and trees will also be cleared from meadow areas at Barnhill & Corsiehill to keep previously cultivated areas from succession.

St Magdalene's Hill Meadows and Grassland (£10,000)

Improvements through clearance of scrub at meadows and other grassland areas. Will also involve investigating biodiversity improvements to storm ponds.

Jeanfield Flood Prevention (£5,000)

Will include tree planting in sections E and F in Wellshill.

Closed Cemeteries Management (£20,000)

Involves cutting back and removing invasive species, and creating new areas for pollinators throughout zero maintenance cemeteries in 20 closed cemeteries.

Projects by PKC Education & Learning

Rewilding Comrie (£5,450)

Comrie Primary School and Parent and Friends Association project involves forming a wet scrape with riparian planting of native trees and plants in the school grounds.

Rewild my School (£12,395)

Luncarty Primary School project involves creating the following habitats within the school grounds: native woodland, native hedgerow, wildflower meadow, beebank, and a wildlife pond. 

Community Projects

The total amount of funding allocated to Community groups is £71,623.

Rewilding Denmarkfield Wildflower Meadow Creation Project

This project in Luncarty will restore a 3.15ha Species Rich Grassland corridor along their northern boundary (£11,187).

Riverside Heather Garden Riparian Restoration Project 

Beautiful Perth will restore the riverside heather garden riparian area with native planting to create a more diverse riparian habitat (£1909).

Crook of Devon Community Orchard and Pollinator Project 

Crook and Drum Growing Together will extend the small community orchard and planting pollinators and bulbs along the edge to create a wildlife corridor for insects (£687). This is a two-year project with additional spend anticipated in 2023/4.

SuDS Pond Enhancement Project 

Tayside Biodiversity Partnership will restore and/or enhance 15 SuDS across PK. At least two of the following will be undertaken: clearing excessive plant life; removing any non-native invasive species present; ensuring the pond is safe for hedgehogs; encouraging amphibians and invertebrates; planting native plant species; and where appropriate, encourage gullypot surveys and provide amphibian ladders (£12,518).

Glassie Bike Park Rewilding

Planting up native tree species in an area devastated by storm Arwen and an open meadow area that goes along a core path that goes through the Glassie Bike Park in Aberfeldy and add in missing species to the overall biodiversity of the flora and fauna (£12,487).

Kinross Rain Gardens Trail

Kinross-shire Civic Trust aspires to create a trail that increases the natural biodiversity of the area through restoring and enhancing its wetland habitats. This will be done through creating new ponds, excavating material, removing invasive species, and using excavated native plants to improve the wetland habitats (£11,384).

River Almond Giant Hogweed Project 

Tayside Biodiversity Partnership will bring together local volunteers, SISI (Scottish Invasive Species Initiative), the TBP and Perth & Kinross Council to survey Giant Hogweed infestations at the River Almond and put in place an eradication programme to remove the invasive species from the area (£10,115).

Dun Coillich Wetlands

Highland Perthshire Communities Land Trust will commission an ecologist to advise on the best way to improve wetland habitats at Dun Coillich such as improving existing ponds, creating new ponds or scrapes, and mapping and restoring areas of peatland. Ponds will be restored in this phase of works (£5616).

Rannoch and Tummel Firepit and Scorch Mark Restoration

Loch Rannoch Conservation Association will plant native tree and shrub saplings to replace those cut down by visitors to burn on fires and increase density of vegetation to bring them back to native loch shore woodland. It will also involve removal of ash contaminated soil from the scorch marks and replacing with sterile soil and where applicable native types of grass seeds and wildflowers to restore woodland undergrowth (£5720).