Blackburn with Darwen Council is to rejig its map of District Wildlife Sites.

The borough currently has 37 of them, originally identified in 2011.

The majority of these DWS sites lie on the town fringes of Blackburn and Darwen.

They are are areas of land which have been identified as being of local importance in providing habitat for wildlife.

Now a study by Bowland Ecology to update the authority's DWS map has recommended changes.

They will be discussed at Blackburn with Darwen Council's executive board meeting on Thursday night.

The report says: "Of the 37 DWSs assessed, five appeared to no longer meet the criteria for DWS.

"They are Knuzden Brook (Abbot Clough); Meadowhead Pastures; Blacksnape / Taylors Green; Robin Bank; and Bog Height Tip and Pastures (South).

"The study identified that habitat management opportunities exist that have the potential to restore the site habitats to DWS status in the short-medium term.

"Two DWSs have been recommended to be significantly reduced in size owing to large areas of the sites no longer appearing to qualify as DWS: Darwen Golf Course and Knuzden Brook (Haslingden Road)."

In the report, boundary alterations are recommended for three DWSs. They are:

  • The boundary between Eccleshill Quarry DWS and Eccleshill Pastures and Disused Railway Line DWS is recommended to be altered to reflect the logical fenced boundary between land ownerships.
  • The boundary of Davyfield Brook DWS is also recommended to be altered, to exclude the M65 carriageway; and
  • Stones Bank Brook DWS has been reduced in size owing to it being partly located within the West Pennine Moors Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

The report adds: "Two sites are no longer designated as DWSs owing to their incorporation into the West Pennine Moors SSSI: Old Man's Verge and Cutting and Black Height Mire.

"Two sites are no longer designated as DWSs owing to their allocation for development within the the emerging Local Plan (2021-2037): Bog Height Tip and Pastures and Craven’s Farm Ponds."

In a report to Thursday's meeting growth boss Cllr Quesir Mahmood says: "Based on the findings of the study the council consider that those DWS sites that have the potential to be restored to re-meet DWS designation, should be prioritised for off-site Bio-Diversity Net Gain (BNG) interventions.

"They are: Blacksnape/Taylors Green; Robin Bank; and Knuzden Brook (Haslingden Road).

"The study results also identified a series of DWS which have the potential to deliver relatively large uplifts in BNG: Fishmoor Drive; Higher Croft; Corporation Park; Pleckgate; and Bold Venture."

"The study makes clear that the five sites identified as no longer meeting the DWS classifications have the potential to be restored with appropriate management.

"As management of private land is the responsibility of the respective landowners, the council’s focus for biodiversity enhancements relate to their own land holdings only.

"Improvements to those DWS in private ownership will require liaison with the landowners, but need not necessarily mean that enhancement opportunities are undeliverable, just that they may take greater work to secure"