RSPB are of the view that Barr Loch is not currently reaching its full potential as a bird reserve, and they aspire to transform the site into a wildlife spectacle.
The reserve is accessible to the densely populated Central Belt, and this means there is the potential to create a valuable educational and recreational resource, as well as contributing to biodiversity targets.
Our assessment concurred that creating greater seasonal variety in the habitat mosaic at Barr Loch could significantly increase the biodiversity interest of the site as it could increase the diversity and numbers of birds and other wildlife found there throughout the year. The challenge was to find a means of creating this variety of habitats within the loch in a way that did not compromise the statutory requirements of the SSSI notification for the site, as well as delivering the wildlife spectacle to which RSPB aspired.
We worked closely with hydrologists from Mouchel to produce complex hydrological topographical mapping and analysis. This provided a snap shot of the current state of the loch, from which an extrapolation of future conditions was possible. Modelled hydrological outputs were then used to devise and evaluate the costs and benefits of a range of habitat enhancement schemes.
