Biodiversity Duty Report January 2026 - Council actions
Walsall Council alongside other partners including Natural England have worked on the large-scale nature Recovery partnership project Purple Horizon since August 2021. The project has looked to restore and connect fragmented habitats, including heathland, wetland, grassland and woodland, to help wildlife population to move and thrive between Cannock Chase (Special Area of Conservation) and Sutton Park (National Nature Reserve).
This project aligned with actions and proposals within the West Midlands Natural Environment Plan: 2021 – 2026 published September 2021.
During the reporting period, Walsall Council alongside partners have undertaken as part of the project:
- Grazing and High-level stewardship feasibility study on 19 Walsall Council owned sites.
- Biodiversity Net Gain studies and management plan were undertaken on 10 sites to look at potential to create BNG compensation sites within Council owned land.
- Green finance analysis for the Purple Horizon Landscape to determine potential buyers for Natural Capital and identify opportunities and blockers to delivery.
- Bare earth creation on Pelsall North Common, Barr Beacon, Brownhills Common and Shire Oak Local Nature Reserve to provide habitat for the Tormentil Mining Bee and other invertebrate species.
- Green Hay strewing on grassland sites including Brownhills Common, Pelsall North Common, Shire Oak Park Local Nature Reserve and Barr Beacon to enhance species diversity and habitat quality.
- Dingy Skipper and six-belted clearwing recorded Pelsall North surveys for presence using pheromone lures. Trialled habitat condition survey for brownfield settings.
- Community engagement workshops teaching member public to identify butterfly species to improve species recording Walsall.
- Habitat creation and enhancement across six sites in Walsall; Shire Oak Local Nature Reserve, Barr Beacon Local Nature Reserve, Clayhanger Village Site of Local Importance to Nature Conservation, Gilbert’s Fields, Pelsall Middle Common, Pelsall Nest Common and Pelsall North Common Local Nature Reserve. The habitat works included heathland and acid grassland creation, neutral and lowland meadow grassland enhancement and woodland and scrub management.
- In addition, glade and open habitat restoration was undertaken at Shire Oak Local Nature Reserve.
| Action (Project/Partner) | Date | Location | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wildflower Meadow Enhancement | 2025/6 | Multiple parks and natural green spaces | Transitioned several areas from cut-and-drop to cut-and-collect. In addition, Walsall has reduced mowing areas and created rewilding banks at Victoria Park to support pollinators and habitat diversity. |
| Nature Town and Cities | 2025 | Borough Wide | The project will create a Strategic Nature and Health Strategy for the borough creating joined and connected routes for Nature and People and protect and increase natural connections. The project commenced 3rd October 2025 to be completed in July 2028. During report period, work included the setting up of partner and steering groups. |
| Wild Walsall (partnership project with Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust) | 2025 | Borough Wide | Completed scoping stage and the bid for delivery stage has been progressed. The Wild Walsall project looks to undertake a nature recovery programme across the east of Walsall, alongside a community engagement programme. |
| Wildflower Meadow Creation – (UK Shared Prosperity Fund(UKSPF)) | 2025/6 | Pleck Park, Swannies Fields and Shelfield Park | 5800m2 of wildflower meadows were created in the three parks using a Cotswold seed mix and annual poppy mix. |
| Reduced Chemical Usage | 2025/6 | Palfrey Park | Measures include increased mechanical edging, mulching, and improved maintenance regimes to reduce reliance on herbicides within the countryside team. |
| Newly Planted Tree Management | 2025/6 | Multiple sites | Large-scale mulching around tree bases to suppress weeds naturally, retain moisture, and improve soil health. This also looks to reduce strimming damage and improves tree longevity. |
| Woodland Management (Thinning) | 2025/6 | Palfrey Park, George Rose Park. Rough Wood and Coppice farm | Selective woodland thinning to open up dense areas to improve light levels and encourage natural regeneration and ground flora. |
| Woodland Management (Scrub layers) | 2022-26 | Merrion’s Wood Local Nature Reserve, Rough Wood Local Nature Reserve and Coppice Farm. | Reduce Holly around bat roosts, to improve flight paths, and cut selective sections of bramble to allow ground flora to develop. |
| General Habitat Improvements – Parks (Corporate Social Responsibility – (CSR)) | 2025/6 | Multiple sites | Working with corporate volunteers to support planting, mulching, and habitat improvements. This has helped to expand planting areas and increase community involvement in biodiversity projects |
| Creation of Butterfly Rides(Butterfly Conservation) | 2023 - 2026 | Shire Oak Park Local Nature Reserve | Created several rides throughout the nature reserve to increase connectivity of grassland and heathland patches for invertebrates. |
| Hazel Coppicing | 2025/6 | Walsall Country Park Site of Importance to Nature Conservation and Longwood Coppice | Run volunteer events to teach traditional management techniques and develop useable stock. This management has increased biodiversity with the woodland by creating structural diversity and allowing light into the field layer. |
| Pond Creation(Conservation Volunteers (CV), CSR. UKSPF) | 2025/6 | Leamore Park and Pleck Park | The creation of wildlife ponds to create better connectivity of wetland habitats and provide pond dipping opportunities for local schools. |
| Pond Enhancement(Froglife. UKSPF. And Section 106 Developer Contribution (C106)) | 2024 -2026 | Fibbersley Local Nature Reserve, Reedswood and Leighs Wood. | Management of the pond edge habitat through the thinning of bankside trees and the removal of reedmace and silt to improve wate quality and edge habitat diversity. |
| Seed Banks | 2025 | Pelsall Nest, Barr Beacon Local Nature Reserve, Shire Oak Local Nature Reserve and Barns Lane. | Green hay strewing of neutral grassland area to improve species diversity. |
| Hibernacula Creation(Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (ARC), CSR, CV) | 2024/5 | Pelsall North Common Local Nature Reserve, Brownhills Common Site Importance to Nature Conservation, Fibbersley Local Nature Reserve and Victory Pools | Protected species features installed across numerous sites. This includes the creation of hibernacula for Common Lizard and the installation of bug hotels. |
| Invasive Non-Native Species control(CV. CSR) | 2023-2026 | Walsall Arboretum, Pinfold Lane Quarry Local Nature Reserve, Hay Head Wood Local Nature Reserve and Park Lime Pits Local Nature Reserve | Invasive non-native species control was undertaken on numerous sites across the Borough. This included the control of Himalayan Balsam and Japanese Knotweed. Works have also been undertaken to manage floating pennywort by the Environment Agency. |
| Tree planting project | 2023-2026 | Borough Wide | See Appendix 1 for detailed information of the tree planting programmes undertaken during the reporting period. |
On 12th February 2024, mandatory BNG was enacted for major applications, with minor developments following suit on 2nd April 2024. Walsall Council prepared for this through the undertaking of presentations with members, planning agents and internal staff and through the production of validation documents outlining the process, involved in planning.
In addition, pre-application consultation meetings included a full outline of what would be required for planning. This looked to ensure developers would introduce biodiversity at early stages of development to allow for optimal outcomes within the borough.