Off-road event cancelled for second time in face of threats to a nationally important local nature reserve

Wildlife lovers have good cause to celebrate, as plans to stage one of the UKs largest 4X4 off-road events on a rural farmland site immediately adjacent to a nationally important local nature reserve in Gozzards Ford near Abingdon in Oxfordshire, have been cancelled following a rising tide of local objections.

Glebe Field, also known as Black Horse Field, is widely regarded by experts as a nature reserve of national importance because it provides a habitat for so many rare species, including the extremely scarce Natterjack toad, as well as birds, insects, annual and perennial wildflowers and grasses. More than 81 Red Data Book insect species have been recorded on-site, under an internationally recognised system of assessment of the conservation status of our flora and fauna by IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature).

Abingdon 4×4 Festival 2011 had already been cancelled once and was set to take place on 24-25 September, featuring a new off-road course with 400 cars participating, plus trade stands, weekend camping, alcohol sales and live music and was expected to attract thousands of visitors over the weekend. For the last 10 years the event, billed as the highlight of the off-road calendar, has been staged at Dalton Barracks at the Abingdon Airfield, until increasing rent and health and safety restrictions imposed by the Ministry of Defence, forced organisers to seek an alternative site. Once the organisers, Abingdon Rotary Club and the owner of the land where the event was to take place were made aware of the concerns associated with the new choice of site, the decision was reached to cancel the event for a second time.

For John Duffield, the owner of the immediately adjoining nature reserve, the issue was not at all about the event itself, but rather being one of location given its proximity to the Glebe Field nature reserve.  The reserve is recognised by Natural England under its Higher Level Stewardship Scheme and includes a woodland designated as a SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest).   

The 130 acre site, classified as dry acid grasslands is similar to that of the East Anglian Brecklands, one of the smallest and rarest of habitats in Britain. Characterised by its sandy free-draining soil, the site has been actively managed for conservation for almost thirty years by its owner John Duffield, who farms some 1200 acres in the area.  As well as populations of badgers and grey hares, the site has recorded a total of 103 bird species including Grey partridge, Skylark and Yellowhammer. Although some species such as Merlin and quail have only been sighted occasionally, amongst the breeding birds are several of national concern, due to the decline in their numbers over recent years, including Barn owls and Reed bunting. Natterjack toads, extremely rare in this area, were successfully introduced to the reserve a few years ago.

Annual surveys of insects and plants having been commissioned for the last 17 years by local experts including entomologist John Campbell and botanist John Killick. Examples of the rare insects found on the site include the true bug (Lygus pratensis) usually called a grass bug, and the very rare weevil (Ceutorhynchus pilosellus). Several rare leaf beetles occur including Psylliodes luteola, of which there are so few records that its conservation status has not yet been decided. The sandy soils are also the home for many rare solitary wasps including the Five-banded Digger Wasp (Cercis quinquefasciata) which is thought to feed upon weevils.

From a botanical perspective, the conservation strategy adopted was to leave the fields to nature – as opposed to opting to sow a conservation mixture. Some active intervention is required though to prevent encroachment by scrub and coarse herbs as part of the natural succession cycle. Autumn grazing by sheep is needed every year. Also, every year in late autumn and early spring, strips of land are ploughed and laid bare across the site, a practice which encourages annual wildflowers to flourish.  Over a hundred different plant species have been recorded on site, including a mosaic of wild grasses such as the locally scarce narrow-leaved meadow-grass; myriad poppies; Silky-bent corncockle; a range of  sedges including Yellow-sedge;  spotted orchids and the Southern Marsh Orchid; Imperforate St Johns Wort and fine cowslip colonies. Many rare varieties, some only known to exist locally, have been added to the Oxfordshire Rare Plants Register one of the many benefits achieved through John Duffields long-term commitment to monitoring flora and fauna on this important site.

In addition, a pond located on the southern perimeter of the site and fed by a natural spring provides an ideal habitat for aquatic fauna, in part due to the very good water quality and the absence of artificial fertiliser. Amongst the insects recorded is one thought to have become extinct: a semi-aquatic leaf hopper (Macrosteles cyane) which lives on the floating leaves of pond weeds. A scavenger water beetle called Berosus signaticollis was found in the pond this year and is the first recorded in Oxfordshire.

 So for the time being the threat to this important nature reserve has receded, but as John Duffield concludes: I am delighted that in this instance decency has prevailed, but constant vigilance is called-for in a climate where so much of our natural landscape and the wildlife species it supports, is disappearing under a relentless tide of development, neglect and indifference. We need to invest in nature if it is to survive for future generations.