Local Events
This section is to share local Ayrshire Wildlife Events.
Urgent appeal for your help
Barony Bing
Description
The Barony Bing is situated between Ochiltree and Auchinleck on the B7036. At its northern edge, the huge A Frame from the former Barony Colliery is a striking landmark that is very obvious from the A70 road to Cumnock. The Bing is the spoil heap from the former colliery which stretches from the Barony Road down to the River Lugar and is largely covered by woodland. On its western side is farmland and on the east it borders onto Dumfries House Estate.
Since the colliery closed in 1989 the Bing has been largely untouched and natural colonisation and succession have produced an interesting variety of habitats. The original coal spoil may not seem an ideal substrate but birch and willow woodland has developed widely across the site, mixed with areas of grassland and bare spoil creating a rich mosaic of habitats that supports a rich variety of wildlife including plants bird and invertebrates. The Bing has now effectively ‘disappeared’ under the trees and now looks like a wooded slope without any hint of its industrial past other than the A Frame and has blended into the wooded landscape of the Lugar valley.
The potential wildlife value of the site has been recognised for some time but more organised survey work by local naturalists in the past decade has highlighted the special importance of the site. This is the best example of the rewilding of a former coal site in East Ayrshire and as such the Scottish Wildlife Trust have pressed East Ayrshire Council to add the site to their list of Local Nature Conservation Sites in the Local Development Plan. This would ensure that its importance was recognised and that it had some limited degree of protection. Unfortunately, this has not happened so far.
The Bing is also a very well used by the public, especially dog walkers. It is part of a loop from Auchinleck and Cumnock that takes in Dumfries House and is also on the Core Path route from Ochiltree to Cumnock and Auchinleck. Indeed, the Bing has a great number of informal paths that have been created by the walkers themselves and these testify to the current level of use. While the developers say that access will be maintained it is hard to believe that it will not be at least greatly restricted by the building of a commercial leisure development.
Development
The Bing has recently been bought by a company called National Pride and a planning application has been lodged with East Ayrshire Council for the Barony Eco-Therapy Wellness Park covering all of the 100 acres of the Bing. This is a major development that will involve the construction of
Reception Hub including a spa, wellness therapy centre and mining museum;
Productive Landscapes Hub containing cosmetics production, biomedicines research, jewellery workshop, craft therapy, vertical farming, bar and bistro, distillery and tasting bar
Projective Ecologies Hub with a forestry room, café and restaurant, flora and fauna research room, habitat management room, fish and invertebrate research facility, biophilics research, water management and education facility.
A total of 324 accommodation units of a range of styles and size, some three storeys high catering for a total capacity of over 500 people.
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A development of this scale will have a significant impact on the Bing. Although the developers state that tree felling will be kept to a minimum and that the buildings will be ‘light touch’ and designed to fit into the landscape there is bound to be major disruption to the wildlife and habitats. The proximity of the River Lugar is also a concern. Both the construction work and the waste water and sewage resulting from the operation of the site pose a potential threat to the quality of the river. This could have an impact on the invertebrates in the river and the fish and birds that depend on them
The scale of the development is apparent from the plan shown below. The lodges and hubs will cover most of the site, including the riverbank and with in excess of 500 people staying on site it will be a very different place both for the plants and animals and for the general public who currently value the freedom of movement and the peace and tranquillity that attracts them.
In the view of the SWT the scale of tree removal necessary to enable all these buildings to be sited along with the necessary ground works that would go along with it would have a severe impact on the wildlife and the many scarce and unusual species that are found there. The developers make much of their intention to work ‘in harmony with nature’ and to enhance the wildlife value but it is difficult to see how this is possible. Following discussions with the developers the Scottish Wildlife Trust is of the view that there is no mitigation that would make the plan acceptable and have decided to oppose it.
The wildlife of the Bing
The natural revegetation of the Bing has proceeded at a different pace in different areas. The variation in texture and chemical composition of the spoil has allowed pioneer tree species such as birch and willow to become established in some areas where in others grassland has developed. On some of the bare ground wild strawberry and bird’s-foot trefoil are abundant while in other areas there is little evidence of plant colonisation although a sort of lichen heath is starting to develop. This mosaic of habitats provides opportunities for a rich and varied fauna and flora that reflect the processes of natural succession and highlight the possibilities for other brownfield sites.
Around 250 different species of plants have been recorded on the Bing. They reflect the variety of conditions that are found here with acid-loving species such as heather and common wintergreen growing close to species such as mignonette that requires base-rich soil. The two species that have created most interest are bee orchid and yellow bird’s-nest. Both species are at the northern limits of their range in the UK. Bee orchids are regularly found on disturbed ground and are not uncommon on brownfield sites in England but they are very rare in Scotland.
Yellow bird’s-nest is a very unusual plant that has no chlorophyll and so cannot make its own food via photosynthesis. Instead, it gets it nutrition from a mycorrhizal Tricholoma fungus that is associated with trees. In Scotland it is very rare although at the Barony it has been found in considerable numbers. It appears to be a ‘fussy’ species that can be quite common in some years and very scarce or even absent in others.
The birds on the Bing have been fairly well recorded and, with over 70 species, the list is quite impressive for a small site. Many of these breed on the site and woodland birds predominate with nuthatch, spotted flycatcher, redstart and tree pipit being recorded. The grassland and wetland areas support skylarks and grasshopper and sedge warblers and the proximity of the river means that sand martins, common sandpipers and kingfishers nest along the banks.
The south-facing slopes and the areas of sheltered bare spoil create ideal conditions for many invertebrates. In total 16 species of butterflies have been recorded with the dingy skipper butterfly, rare in Scotland, being found in good numbers where its caterpillars feed on the large patches of bird’s-foot trefoil that grows on the bare spoil. The Barony is one of the best sites in Scotland for this species. Although mainly a coastal species in Scotland the Bing is the best site in Ayrshire for the grayling butterfly and other interesting species such as the small copper, ringlet and dark green fritillary are also found. ‘Moth nights’ have been held by the Coalfield Environment Initiative with help from local moth expert Tom Vorsterman and 130 different species have been recorded including several uncommon species.
Although less obvious than the butterflies there are many other scarce invertebrates to be found on the Bing. On sunny days green tiger beetles can be found flying in short hops along the paths while the nationally rare false blister beetle (Oedemera virescens) is found in good numbers on the buttercups growing in the grassland areas. Amongst the 130 recorded beetles are species that rely on dead wood, fungi, flowers, leaves and carrion, testifying to the habitat variety and further survey work will no doubt discover many more. Other groups of invertebrates have not been surveyed in as much detail so there are opportunities for much more survey work to be done.
What to do NOW -
The Scottish Wildlife Trust urge you to make your views known to your local councillor and to the East Ayrshire Council Planning Department.
The planning application can be viewed by clicking on the link below
http://eplanning.east-ayrshire.gov.uk/online/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=R23D1GGFJJ800
The Scottish Wildlife Trust encourages you
to lodge a formal objection with the Council.
Some of our past events .........
Summer News Update
Our recent events have been well attended, including 35 people at the West Kilbride Scarecrow Festival and 25 people at our Big Butterfly Count at Gailes Marsh. We also had a good turnout of 10 photographers for our Macro & Wildflower event at Gailes Marsh
More information on our activities can be found on our local Facebook page here https://www.facebook.com/swtayrshire/?fref=nf or search for Scottish Wildlife Trust Ayrshire
July Juniors !
In the month of July we had a presence at both the Ladies and Men's Scottish Open Golf Tournaments held at Dundonald Links in Irvine. We offered a varied stall including wildlife themed crafts for children and nature bug hunts. We engaged with hundreds of families and especially children, giving them the message about the Nectar Network and the importance of pollinators.
We also offered children the chance to win a Hedgehog Award if they did 8 things for nature, this was a great success and dozens of children are now proud owners of a Hedgehog Award Certificate. It is hoped that by interacting with these young children we will instil a lifelong love of nature and especially locally here in Ayrshire.
As a lasting reminder of our presence at the golf, Dundonald Links, a Nectar Network partner, have kindly allowed us to build a Big Bee Hotel on the course.
Our next event on March 5th is a guided walk at our Ayr Gorge reserve at Failford Village, entitled ‘ The Hidden History of Ayr Gorge Woodlands’.
We will be learning about its varied and interesting past and also about the wildlife we are helping to protect there.
It’s a beautiful reserve with a SSSI status and with an interesting past our walk is sure to be informative.
There are some steep steps and paths to navigate so bring sturdy footwear and dress for the weather.
Wildlife Treasure Hunt
Our ‘ Wildlife Treasure Hunt ‘ at Shewalton Sandpits was a great success with over 20 people looking for clues that led them to the Treasure Chest. The children then had to work together to retrieve the key for the chest from the bottom of the pond. Everyone had a great time and especially making Wildlife Selfie Frames from natural materials we collected on our walk around the reserve
The last of 2016 and into 2017
Rounding off 2016, our Christmas Wreath event over the festive period was a great success
and then to the New Year Wildlife Cycle event kick started 2017 !
Both were really well attended with over 60 people of all ages enjoying the fresh air and wildlife.
