{"id":254688,"date":"2025-11-10T10:27:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T10:27:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/254688\/"},"modified":"2025-11-10T10:27:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T10:27:11","slug":"rspb-to-extend-otmoor-nature-reserve-in-oxfordshire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/254688\/","title":{"rendered":"RSPB to extend Otmoor nature reserve in Oxfordshire"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n This initiative is part of a collaboration between Cherwell District Council<\/a> and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) to establish the district’s second habitat bank.\n<\/p>\n

\n The 21-hectare site will be managed by the RSPB and will provide a sanctuary for rare and at-risk wading birds such as lapwing, redshank, curlew, and snipe.\n<\/p>\n

\n The works will also boost the presence of ecologically valuable plant and invertebrate species.\n<\/p>\n

\n Councillor Jean Conway, portfolio holder for planning and development management, said: “Otmoor is a real treasure when it comes to wetland habitats and sustaining populations of some of the UK\u2019s most beautiful wader species.\n<\/p>\n

\n “With their unrivalled knowledge and years of experience at Otmoor, the RSPB are the perfect partner to help us bring forward this new habitat bank.”\n<\/p>\n

\n The initiative is part of the council’s response to new legislation governing Biodiversity Net Gain, requiring developers to fund nature restoration.\n<\/p>\n

\n James Robinson, the RSPB\u2019s chief operating officer, said: “We\u2019re delighted to be launching our first Biodiversity Net Gain site at RSPB Otmoor, a haven for wildlife in the heart of Oxfordshire.\n<\/p>\n

\n “Otmoor is one of the largest inland wetlands in the country, providing a crucial habitat for a variety of important species, such as lapwings, redshanks, and curlews.”\n<\/p>\n

\n RSPB Otmoor nature reserve (Image: Adam Charlton (RSPB-Images)\u00a0)\n<\/p>\n

\n Work is under way to convert the former agricultural site into a floodplain grazing marsh, a habitat identified by the government as a priority for wildlife conservation.\n<\/p>\n

\n Wetland features, known as scrapes and footdrains, will be created in parts of the bank, while other areas will be reseeded using seeds from the adjacent Otmoor Site of Special Scientific Interest.\n<\/p>\n

\n Habitat banks allow large-scale nature restoration, joining up ecosystems and making them more resilient.\n<\/p>\n

\n Under government planning rules introduced last year, developers must enhance biodiversity by 10 per cent or more when building new homes or infrastructure.\n<\/p>\n

\n This is known as Biodiversity Net Gain, meaning that nature is left in a better state than before the building took place.\n<\/p>\n

\n Where it is not possible to achieve this on the development site itself, developers can fund habitat creation elsewhere.\n<\/p>\n

\n At present, developers would have to purchase biodiversity units outside the district to meet these obligations.\n<\/p>\n

\n But the development of habitat banks at Ells Farm near Bloxham and at the RSPB site in Otmoor means that the benefits of this investment will be realised locally.\n<\/p>\n

\n For local landowners, setting up a habitat bank is an opportunity to increase the biodiversity of their land while also providing a reliable, additional source of income.\n<\/p>\n

\n Interested landowners can contact the council to find out more by emailing ecology@cherwell-dc.gov.uk.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This initiative is part of a collaboration between Cherwell District Council and the Royal Society for the Protection…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":254689,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[1397,90,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-254688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-science","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254688","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254688"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254688\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/254689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}