The strip of shoreline at Parklea, Port Glasgow provides a perfect area for the local community to enjoy a mix of wildlife, recreation and sporting activities. The area consists of five sporting pitches used for football and rugby and lies along the Inner Clyde Special Protection Area (SPA), which is allocated for its wintering redshank population.
Inverclyde Council plans to replace the existing football pitches with synthetic grass pitches and improved sports facilities, including a pavilion to be used by the local community. However objections were cited by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) due to the site being located immediately adjacent to the Inner Clyde SPA.
LUC carried out a Habitat Regulations Assessment (HRA) to assess the potential for a proposed sport development to have a significant adverse affect upon the integrity of the Inner Clyde SPA. The key issue for the HRA to address was the potential for the development at Parklea to cause significant disturbance to the redshank population. Following discussion with SNH, we undertook a detailed survey of redshank use of the site over the wintering period. We then used the survey data to provide the baseline status and interpret redshank use of the Parklea site, which provided the supporting information for the Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) to allow an Appropriate Assessment of the development.
Based on the information obtained in the survey, it was considered highly unlikely that the proposals for the development would significantly affect the structure (size and distribution) or the functioning (normal patterns of feeding, roosting, immigration and emigration) of the redshank population, or negatively affect the habitats that support redshank.
This was a great outcome to an interesting project — removing a potential impediment to the development of improved facilities whilst protecting and conserving the Clyde SPA redshank population.
