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Environmental Impacts

Listed below are some examples of Environmental Impacts work undertaken recently by Asken.

Contact us at:

k.taylor@asken.co.uk

Elveden Estate
Environmental Impact Assessment
Asken is assessing the likely impacts on a farm business and large estate of proposals to develop a borrow pit.  This would be a temporary source of stone to assist with the widening of the nearby A11 Trunk Road.  Asken will provide a chapter for the Environmental Statement which will accompany the planning application.

Helioshepherd
Strategic Rail Freight Interchange
The client is the ‘development partner’ working with the landowner to explore the potential to develop a large scale road-rail freight interchange at a site near Derby.  The scale of the development means that any planning application will be made to the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC).  Asken has been given responsibility to assess the implications of the development on agricultural interests, and soils. 

Helisoshepherd
Inland Port
In 2010, an application to Doncaster MBC for outline planning permission for a strategic rail freight interchange was successful.  The client now wants to proceed to getting detailed planning consent for the first stages of the development.  Asken has been retained to help prepare a Green Infrastructure Management Plan and Soil Management Plan which are conditions of the planning approval. 

Natural England
Higher Level Stewardship Scheme - Case Studies
Working in a team comprising Penny Anderson Associates Ltd and Countryside and Community research Institute, Asken undertook research amongst HLS agreement holders to gather data to support the production of a series of case studies.  Each case study was chosen as an exemplar of how the scheme works and the benefits it can generate.  Asken was responsible for gathering data from around 20 agreement holders from around the country.

Peel Energy Ltd
Scout Moor Wind Farm Extension
Peel Energy Ltd (PEL) has developed the largest on-shore wind farm in England at Scout Moor, above Rochdale, Lancashire.  It is now developing proposals to extend the number of turbines, both through in-filling of the existing site and extending the wind farm footprint to the south and east.  This will involve work on common land, as well as land which is free of such rights.  PEL want to use this development as a catalyst for change of the management of the moorland, so as to improve its value for grazing, amenity and biodiversity.  Asken was commissioned to consult with those with an interest in the land in an effort to reach agreement over the best way for all to benefit from the development and minimise any adverse impacts.

Forestry Commission/Ngage Solutions Ltd
Woodfuel Woodland Improvement Grant (WIG)

The Forestry Commission are pilot testing a new component of the WIG in three areas of England – South East, South West and Cumbria.  Asken is providing logistical support to the Ngage team in administering the grant scheme, including site visits, monitoring completion of tasks and so on.

South Lakeland District Council/Taylor Young Associates
Kendal Public Realm Study

As a small business operating from Kendal, Asken was ideally placed to work alongside architects Taylor Young to develop a public realm plan for Kendal which would contribute to the town's revitalisation. Asken's role is to consult with local businesses and relate their views to the Council.

Environmental Impact Assessment
Helios Properties

Asken was retained to provide advice on the agricultural aspects of an environmental impact assessment. The EIA concerned a major transport infrastructure development on a greenfield site currently used for arable cropping and livestock rearing. The development has now received planning permission and Asken has been retained to help deliver the project.

Guidance on Production of Environmental Codes of Practice
Countryside Council for Wales

There is a proliferation of codes of good practice, many of which try to help people reduce their environmental impact. However, approaches to code production vary widely and little is done to check on their effectiveness. Asken, working with Resources For Change, were commissioned to prepare guidance on good practice to help organisations produce better codes. Asken was subsequently retained to help test the draft code on three pilot projects in Wales.

Balancing The Needs Of Navigation And Nature Conservation
Inland Waterways Amenity Advisory Council

Asken provided expertise on stakeholder consultation methods, as part of a team led by the Freshwater Biological Association. The project involved a review of good practice guidance and how this can be used to help build consensus between competing interests. Click here for more information

Access-Nature Conservation: Best Practice Handbook
English Nature

Working with Penny Anderson Associates and Footprint Ecology, Asken prepared a Best Practice Handbook. The Handbook provides scientifically-justified guidance on the management of public access at sites of nature conservation importance.

Common Land Project
English Nature/Entec UK Ltd

Entec undertook a project to consider the management options for common land in the south of England and their effects on nature conservation interests. Asken was sub-contracted by Entec to provide advice on common land law and how it may affect the formulation of management options.

Nature Conservation and Recreation
English Nature/Penny Anderson Associates Ltd

Little has been done to collate information about the environmental impacts of different recreational activities. PAA Ltd and Asken Ltd were commissioned to look at a range of activities and, for each activity:

• describe the activity
• identify trends in participation
• search for information about impacts of the activity on the natural environment

Dogs, Access and Nature Conservation
English Nature

One aspect of public access that causes great concern amongst land managers – be they farmers or nature reserve managers – is the effect of dogs that accompany people. Asken and Penny Anderson Associates Ltd were commissioned to research the subject and provide a more objective understanding of the effects of dogs on nature conservation, and identify best practice in dealing with sites where dogs are a cause for genuine concern. The work has now been published as R649. Click here for more information (but note that this is a big file)

Management Plan for Cannock Chase SSSI
Staffordshire County Council/Penny Anderson Associates

Cannock Chase is an important resource for nature conservation and amenity. Much of it is also common land. However, it has not been used for agriculture for many years and grazing rights have been largely extinguished. Staffordshire County Council is committed to improving the management of the site, including the re-introduction of grazing. Asken advised PAA on land management issues, ranging from question about the common land status, through the legal classification of stock to disease risks.

Remediation of Basin Fens
English Nature/Penny Anderson Associates

Basin fens are important habitats but are vulnerable to nutrient enrichment from agricultural and other sources. Asken provided agricultural/land management expertise to a team of environmentalists looking at ways in which nutrient enrichment can be curtailed and the fens remediated.

Management of SSSIs in Unfavourable Condition
United Utilities/Penny Anderson Associates

Asken provided agricultural/land management expertise to PAA which was assisting United Utilities bid for funds (allocated through the AMP4 process) to enable United Utilities to encourage tenants to modify management on upland SSSIs that are deemed to be in unfavourable condition. UU’s bid was successful and, as a result, it has launched the SCaMP project.

Review of Land Management Incentives for Protected Areas
Scottish Natural Heritage

Asken led a project (which included the Countryside and Community Research Unit of Cheltenham College) to consider what features of the design of land management incentives could be most effectively used in Scotland’s protected areas. The review encompassed similar schemes in the British Isles and four selected countries on mainland Europe.

Wildwoods Project
Woodland Policy Group/Worrell Forestry and Penny Anderson Associates

Asken provided specialist expertise on land use policy implications/constraints of proposals to develop new 'wildwoods' in remote areas of Great Britain. In a subsequent project, Asken assisted PAA in looking at how the concept might be implemented more widely, especially in England and Wales. Click here for more information.

Integrated Land Management Plan for Catterick Training Area
Entec/Ministry of Defence

Asken undertook the preparation of the final version of the Integrated Land Management Plan for the military training area at Catterick, North Yorkshire. The Plan comprised eight separate components:

• Military training
• Agriculture and estate management
• Cultural heritage/archaeology
• Landscape
• Nature conservation
• Pollution management
• Public liaison/access
• Woodlands

The ILMP brought together and reconciled conflicting/competing interests in the use of the training areas to provide a basis for on-going management of the areas.

Environmental Impact Assessment
Burford Carrington Ltd

Asken was retained to provide advice on the agricultural aspects of an environmental impact assessment. The EIA concerned a major transport infrastructure development on a greenfield site currently used for arable cropping.

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