THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB
HEADQUARTERS:
THE PASSMORE ED WARDS MUSE UM,
ROMFORD ROAD, STRATFORD,
LONDON, E15 4LZ
NEWSLETTER NO. 11 August 1994
EDITOR'S NOTE
There are two articles in this Newsletter about sites under threat. It is clear that if sites
such as these are to be saved a lot of information about their wildlife value is needed, and
this is where the difficulties begin. Very few sites in any county have had comprehensive
wildlife surveys or even detailed studies of a few groups of animal. The Field Club has
people with the necessary expertise to carry out such surveys, but of course they are time
consuming and there is a limit to how much can be done. Most of our coastal Saltmarsh
and remaining grazing marsh grasslands are recognised by their status as Sites of Special
Scientific Interest. The wealth of ancient woodland (although much fragmented) is
identified by the Ancient Woodland Inventory. However most old grasslands in the
county have been lost to the plough and there is increasing pressure on what remains for
various road, retail and housing developments. I believe we should be trying to retain all
those that remain. We should urgently try to identify the most valuable grassland sites
that remain in the county. In many cases this might be a small flower-rich field left to be
grazed by horses tucked away in some coRNer of a farm, or an old field that is now mostly
scrub and in urgent need of management.
Although the Essex Wildlife Trust has surveyed the county in its identification of Sites of
Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC sites), this has seemingly relied very much on
items like the Ancient Woodland Inventory and by necessity a somewhat perfunctory
survey of other habitats such as grasslands. Use was not made of the detailed county
records that the Field Club Recorders have available and liaison with local wildlife
groups seems to have come in at the end of the process rather than the beginning.
Nevertheless the identification of SINC sites is an extremely important achievement and
possibly a cornerstone in the forward planning that may help to save our wildlife sites.
However looking at the map for the Thurrock Draft Plan I was concerned at how poorly
represented grasslands are in the borough compared to comprehensive identification of
virtually every single piece of ancient wood, copse and shaw either as a SINC site or an
Area of Local Nature Conservation Significance.
In my view Orsett Golf Course and the Thames Terrace Gravel grasslands at West Tilbury
represent two of the most important grassland sites in Essex but I doubt whether either
would have been included as SINC sites without the evidence and wealth of rarities that
Roger Payne and myself have recorded in the last 2-3 years. In comparison many of the
small woods included as SINC sites can have few hard facts to support identification
other than their ancient woodland status. Surely all old grasslands need inclusion on the
same basis before we lose them completely.
Peter Harvey